Sunstroke toll in Odisha rises to eight

The Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office said at least three heat-related deaths have been reported from Angul district, two each from Sambalpur and Bargarh and one in Balangir district.As the state virtually turned into a heat cauldron, the mercury breached the 43 degree mark in at least five places and the 40 degree mark in 13 places. Balangir was the hottest place recording 45.7 degrees, followed by 45.5 degrees Celsius at Titlagarh, the MeT office said.

The maximum temperature touched 44.7 degrees Celsius at Angul, while it was 44.5 degrees at Bhawanipatna, 44.4 degrees at Malkangiri, 42.6 degrees at Jharsuguda, 42.3 degrees at Dhenkanal, 41.8 degrees at Sambalpur and 41.2 degrees at Talcher, it said.

In Bhubaneswar, the maximum temperature was 40.1 degrees Celsius while Cuttack city recorded 39.2 degrees Celsius.