Western Odisha sizzles; Mercury soars to 46 degrees in Sonepur, Sundergarh

Bhubaneswar: While the people of coastal Odisha had a temporary relief from the intense heat wave, mercury rose alarmingly in almost all parts of west and central districts of the state today with Sonepur and Sundergarh recording 46 degree Celsius each, the highest temperature recorded in the state this summer.

Apart from these two districts, temperature went up to 40 degrees and above in 15 places in Balasore (41.2), Chandbali (40.7), Angul (43.9), Baripada (42.5), Jharsuguda (44.4), Keonjhar (42), Sambalpur (44), Hirakud (44.6), Talcher (44.6), Bhawanipatna (45), Balangir (44.5), Phulbani (41.5), Titlagarh (45), Malkangiri (42) and Dhenkanal (43.4), said a Met release here this evening.

Though temperature in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar came down to 38.5 and 39.7 degrees respectively, the people had a tough time as the humidity level went up to 91 per cent.

Talking to OTV, Dr Sarat Chandra Sahu, Director, Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, said while temperature would remain below 40 degrees in the coastal belts, the intense heat wave will continue in interior Odisha till next five days.

Meanwhile, 35 persons are suspected to have died of sunstroke in the state even as the state government claimed that no has died due to heat related incidents.
"Of the total 35 cases, nine were examined by district collectors. None of the nine deaths was due to heat related incidents," Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradipta Mohapatra said.