Bhubaneswar: Grueling heat wave conditions persisted in western Odisha today with Bhawanipatna recording a high of 44.5 degree Celsius, while coastal parts of the state experienced a slight respite.
While Bhawanipatna turned out to be the hottest place in the state, Sundargarh sizzled at 44 degrees and the coal town of Talcher recorded a maximum temperature of 42.2 degrees Celsius, the Meteorological Centre said.
The industrial belt of Angul recorded a maximum temperature of 42.1 degrees, followed by 42 degrees at Titlagarh, 41.8 degrees in both Jharsuguda and Sonepur, 41.6 degrees at Sambalpur, 41.5 degrees at Bolangir and 41.3 degrees Celsius at Hirakud, it said.
A total of 14 places in the state recorded temperature above 40 degrees Celsius out of which five stations registered temperature beyond 42 degrees Celsius.
In Bhubaneswar the maximum temperature was 40.6 degrees, up from 39.4 degrees recorded yesterday, while Cuttack recorded 38 degrees Celsius.
A report from the Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office said the sunstroke toll remained unchanged at 18, while the number of alleged deaths due to heat related incidents increased to 187.