BHUBANESWAR: With the state bearing the brunt of a blazing heatwave since the last 15 days making it one of the longest spells since 2016, IMD officials on Tuesday said Baripada, Balasore and state capital Bhubaneswar figured in the list of top 10 hottest places in the world on the day.
While day temperature for the month of April broke all records in Baripada and Balasore, Bhubaneswar sizzled at over 45 degree Celsius. Of the 10 hottest places, Baripada stood second in the list followed by Balasore at third and Bhubaneswar at 10th. Joba in Oman topped the list, IMD sources said.
Met officials said Baripada stood the hottest in the state at 46.4 degree C which is an all-time high day temperature for the station in the month of April. The previous highest temperature of 46.1 degree Celsius had been recorded in the north Odisha town on April 21, 2010.
Similarly, Balasore also recorded 46 degree Celsius, a departure of 10.1 degree Celsius than the normal temperature and an all-time record for the coastal town in the month of April. The city had previously recorded temperature of 45 degree Celsius in April.
Capital Bhubaneswar, meanwhile, also recorded 45.4 degree Celsius, which according to the IMD, is the second highest temperature for the city in the month of April so far. The city had recorded the highest temperature of 45.8 degree C on April 11, 2016.
With no end in sight to the intense heatwave, many places turned into heat chambers prompting the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) to issue advisory to district collectors to exercise adequate caution. Temperature soared past 42 degree C in around 29 stations and 44 degree Celsius in 15 stations, weather scientists said.
Met officials said this prolonged heatwave that dragged for 15 days straight, has already become the longest spell in last nine years. “The previous longest spell of 20 days in parts of the state had been recorded from April 7 to 26 in 2016. The heatwave during this period had largely persisted over Chandbali,” director of Bhubaneswar Met Centre Manorama Mohanty said adding, in Bhubaneswar such long dry spell had persisted from April 16 to May 5 in 2014.
Mohanty further said the current spell of heatwave days is also the longest in last five years (from 2020 to 2024) as the previous longest heatwave spell of 12 days had been recorded in the state in June 2023. “The northwesterly and westerly dry air and high solar insolation are the main reasons of the increased number of heat days in the state at present,” she stated.
Meanwhile, IMD forecast also suggested that heatwave will continue for another five days in which severe heatwave conditions could prevail in parts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Angul, Dhenkanal, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Cuttack and Boudh.
SOARING MERCURY
Balasore records 46 degree C, Bbsr 45.4 degree C
Temp soared past 42 degree C in 29 stations, 44 degree Celsius in 15 stations
This is the longest heatwave since 2016
Severe heatwave alert in 11 districts