Bhubaneswar: Blistering heat persisted across Odisha on Friday with the mercury breaching the 40 degree celsius mark in at least 11 places in the state.
Balangir was the hottest place in the state recording 44.7 degree celsius, while maximum temperature at Titlagarh was recorded at 44.2 degree celsius, the met office said.
The maximum temperature at Bhawanipatna was 43.5 degree celsius, while the mercury stood at 43.4 degrees at Sonepur, 43.1 degrees at Angul, 42.1 degrees at Sambalpur, 41.4 degrees at both Jharsuguda and Malkangiri, 41.1 degrees at Hirakud, 41 degrees at Sundargarh and 40 degree celsius at Talcher, it said.
In the capital city of Bhubaneswar, the maximum temperature stood at 38.4 degree celsius, while Cuttack city recorded a maximum temperature of 36.5 degrees, it added.
As many as ten heat-related deaths have been reported in the state so far this summer - three each from Angul and Sambalpur, two in Bargarh district and one each in Balangir and Bhadrak, the office of the Special Relief Commissioner said.
Some parts of Odisha are likely to experience rain and thunder shower in the wake of a low pressure area created over southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining area of central Bay of Bengal, IMD sources said.
The IMD in a bulletin said that Thursday’s low pressure area persists in the same area. "The associated upper air cyclonic circulation extends up to 5.8 km above mean sea level," it said.
The system is likely to become more marked over East central Bay of Bengal during the next 48 hours, said S Sahu, the director of IMD, Bhubaneswar here on Friday.
Under its influence, rain and thundershower are likely to occur at one or two places in Odisha during the next 24 hours, it said.