BHUBANESWAR: Odisha recorded 45 more suspected heatstroke deaths in the last 24 hours taking the death toll in the State to 141 on Sunday.
The western districts continued to remain the epicentre even as the state continued to bear the brunt of the blistering conditions.
According to the Special Relief Commissioner’s (SRC) office, a total of 99 deaths were reported in the last 72 hours.
Of the fatalities in the last three days, 20 have been confirmed by collectors of various districts based on postmortem and joint inquiry reports. It has been ascertained two cases were not due to sunstroke.
“During this summer, reports of 141 alleged sunstroke deaths have been reported from various districts. So far, 26 deaths have been confirmed due to sunstroke while eight were caused by other reasons,” said the SRC’s office.
Around 107 alleged cases are pending inquiry at the district-level.
Meanwhile, the met office said heatwave is likely to persist in Odisha for two more days. Heatwave condition is expected to occur in parts of Bargarh, Balangir, Kalahandi, Nuapada and Sonepur districts on Monday.
Similarly, heatwave is likely to prevail in Bargarh, Balangir, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Sonepur and Sambalpur districts on Tuesday.
Slight relief is expected from Wednesday onwards as the met office has not forecast heatwave condition in the state for the subsequent four days. However, hot and humid weather is expected to prevail in a few districts on Wednesday and Thursday.
Advisory:
Sunstroke deaths have witnessed an alarming rise in the last three days, the met office cautioned that heat is a health concern for the general public, especially infants, elderly people, pregnant women and persons who are unwell.
It advised citizens to take precautionary measures while going outside between 11 am and 3 pm.
On Sunday, Titlagarh was the hottest at 42.5 degree Celsius, followed by Balangir and Sonepur with 42.3 degree C each.
Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 38.3 degree C and 36 degree C respectively during the period.
With high humidity and no significant rainfall activity, citizens faced intolerable conditions.
The state has recorded 27 per cent deficit rains between May 23 and 29.