Winter set to get an extra chill in Odisha this time, thanks to La Nina 

BHUBANESWAR: The winter, which has been blowing hot and cold this season, is likely to get colder than usual later this year. There is a 50 per cent to 60 per cent probability that minimum temperature will be below normal in Odisha, says the India Meteorological Department. 

The core cold wave (CW) zone covers northern states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh extending through Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana.

“Minimum temperature will be 0.48 degree Celsius below normal in Chhattisgarh and 0.36 degree below normal in Madhya Pradesh for which western Odisha is likely to experience a colder winter than remaining parts of the State,” Director General of Meteorology of IMD Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told TNIE on Sunday.

In its seasonal outlook for December and February, the national forecaster stated that below normal minimum temperatures are expected over most sub-divisions of north, north-west and central and at few sub-divisions of east India. It also indicate above normal maximum temperature (day temperature) at most sub-divisions of north-west, north, east and Northeast and at few sub-divisions of central and peninsular India.

“At present, sea surface temperatures are below normal over central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. Moderate La Nina conditions are prevailing over the equatorial Pacific Ocean,” said Mohapatra.

The latest prediction based on the Monsoon Mission Couple Forecasting System (MMCFS) suggests that moderate La Nina conditions will continue till end of this winter season. La Nina is a phenomenon that describes cooler than normal ocean surface temperatures in the Eastern and Central Pacific Ocean, regions close to the equator off the west coast of South America.

“In India, El Nino leads to drought or weak monsoon while La Nina favours strong monsoon and colder winters,” said Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Scientist Umasankar Das.