BHUBANESWAR: With mercury showing no sign of a let-up, the met office on Thursday issued a heat wave warning across coastal Odisha where day temperature hovered well above the normal. Across the hot plate in the western zone, the temperature remained almost constant barring a marginal drop in a couple of places.
As the sweltering conditions persisted, the Special Relief Commissioner’s Control Room received as many as nine sun stroke deaths. Cuttack and Nayagarh districts reported two deaths each followed by one casualty each from Angul, Ganjam, Keonjhar, Khurda and Rayagada. None of the deaths has been officially confirmed as yet.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, day temperature rose in many parts of coastal Odisha as no thundershower activity took place. Chandbali, Cuttack, Paradip, Gopalpur and Dhenkanal recorded a marginal jump in the day temperature. Bhubaneswar, which registered a record 43.2 degree Celsius for the second consecutive day, remained the hottest place of the State. Hirakud followed at 43.1 degree Celsius.
“The coastal districts will remain in grip of the heat wave for next 24 hours though there is forecast for a drop in day temperature across the region,” Director, IMD, Odisha Sarat Chandra Sahu said.
Odisha alone was not in the clutches of the blistering conditions. Independent weather forecaster Skymet said, Maharashtra, Telangana, Rayalaseema, East Madhya Pradesh, north interior Karnataka, East Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh were also in the grip of heat wave. Maximum temperatures across these areas ranged from 42 degree C to 44 degree C.
However, day temperatures saw a substantial drop across the Central, East and Peninsular India in the last 48 hours but parts of West Bengal and Odisha continued to reel under the heat wave conditions. In next 24 hours, Skymet said, relief is likely as light to moderate rainfall may occur due to presence of several weather systems.
Though there will be a let up, it may be temporary as day temperatures will continue to settle above 40 degree C. Sahu also agreed that a dip in mercury is expected but temperature may soar again.
Skymet said, the region is vulnerable to the intense heat conditions during the pre-monsoon season and gets relief around the onset of southwest monsoon in June.