Bhubaneswar: The local Meteorological centre on Wednesday predicted that cold wave conditions would now be confined only to the interior pockets of the state.

Moderate fog may hamper commuting in the city during early morning hours. The weather will remain dry over coastal pockets of the state, including Bhubaneswar, while one or two interior places will feel the chill in the air.

Similar situation will continue till January 25.

"The winter is coming to an end," said Met director Sarat Chandra Sahu.

"The wind pattern is suggesting that the maximum temperature will remain constant, while the minimum temperature will steadily show an increasing trend across the state," he added.

Bhubaneswar recorded its lowest temperature of 10.6 degrees Celsius on January 9.

"The winter was little harsh this time. It was not the same last year. The cold wave situation was really worse on the city outskirts," said Patia resident Jayesh Parmar.

On Wednesday, the Met centre observed shallow fog at isolated places of the costal pockets, while cold wave condition prevailed over some interior places.

"There is no large change in the minimum temperatures. They were below normal over coastal Odisha and appreciably below normal over interior Odisha," said a Met official.

The India Meteorological Department on Wednesday revealed that the average minimum temperature of the state remained 3.1°C below normal, while the average maximum temperature remained 1.6°C above normal.

Besides, the Met centre has recorded a highest temperature of 32.6°C in Malkangiri district and the state's lowest temperature of 3.5°C in Phulbani.