Marginal drop in temperature in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Marginal drop in temperature in several areas coupled with a nor'wester brought some respite today from the gruelling heatwave condition in Odisha.

The temperature at Balangir, which remained the hottest town in the state, fell to 42.5 degree Celsius during the day from 44.3 degree Celsius recorded yesterday, the Met office said.

As the mercury witnessed a slide under the impact of a nor'wester in some areas, the mercury breached the 40-degree mark in eight places compared to 13 yesterday.

Sonepur was a close second to Balangir and recorded a maximum temperature of 42 degree Celsius as against 43.4 degrees yesterday, while the mercury stood at 41.1 degrees at both Jharsuguda and Titlagarh, 40.8 degrees at Sambalpur, 40.6 degrees at Hirakud, 40.5 degrees at Bhawanipatna and 40 degrees at Sundargarh, it said.

The maximum temperature in Bhubaneswar was 36.7 degree celsius and 36.4 degrees in Cuttack city, the Met office said.

Sunstroke has claimed at least three lives in the state so far this summer with casualties reported from Bargarh, Angul and Balangir districts, the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said.