BHUBANESWAR: The temporary relief in coastal Odisha following a drop in mercury could soon be replaced by sweltering conditions as day temperature is slated to rise once again from April 20, the weather office said here on Monday.
Western and interior Odisha will continue to feel the pinch with prevailing conditions persisting for next seven days but it is the coastal districts which will again see a swell in the mercury.
As of now, a larger chunk of Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand have been in the grip of an intense heat wave. For the last two days, day temperature has dropped in coastal pockets while soaring considerably over the western districts.
The India Meteorological Department said the existing cloudy conditions will only lead to a marginal drop in temperature and very localised rain in some pockets but it would not be strong enough to counter the heat wave.
The weather office said the current weather and temperature pattern will remain more or less constant for next five to seven days across the State.
“The western Odisha districts are expected to heat up since it will get the westerly wind flow from north western India,” Director of IMD, Odisha Sarat Chandra Sahu said.
Similarly, around the same time, the southern breeze, which has helped bring down the mercury by at least two to three degrees over coastal pockets, will slow down and remain confined to the Bay of Bengal area. This will help mercury soar again. The IMD said since there is no system-based rain in sight, heat wave conditions will remain persistent.
Private weather forecaster Skymet said the State usually experiences pre-monsoon rains in April but this year, early showers are absent. This can also be attributed to the El Nino effect, which is altering the global weather pattern, it added.
It also said in the last few days, Odisha and other Eastern States have not seen any weather activity and this scenario is unlikely to change anytime soon. “There will be no major relief from the heat wave conditions in the State in the near future,” it predicted.
So far, 45 deaths, allegedly due to heat wave, have been reported in the State though not one has been confirmed. On Monday, 16 stations reported 40 degree plus temperature with Sonepur recording 46 degree Celsius once again. The county is currently reeling under an intense heat wave.