BHUBANESWAR: Odisha remained in the grip of intense heat on Thursday with 24 places in the state recording 40 degree Celsius or more. The Bhubaneswar met centre has forecast hot and humid weather as well as warm nights in parts of the state till Saturday.
On the day, Jharsuguda and Talcher recorded the highest maximum day temperature of 44 deg C each. They were followed by Titilagarh which logged 43.8 deg C, Dhenkanal and Angul 43.5 deg C each, Hirakud 43.4 deg C, and Sambalpur and Paralakhemundi 43 deg C each.
Twin City, meanwhile, also recorded a surge in mercury with Bhubaneswar reading 42.1 deg C and Cuttack 41.8 deg C, the highest in both so far this season.
The regional met office has forecast possibility of heatwave at isolated places in Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Balangir, Keonjhar, Angul and Khurda districts on Friday. The hot and humid weather may prevail at a few places in Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati districts during the period.
People in the coastal regions can, however, expect some respite from the punishing heat Saturday onwards as the weather body has forecast a dip in mercury in these areas.
In its extended range outlook issued on the day, the met office said the maximum temperature is likely to be normal to above normal over most parts of the state from April 24 to 30 and normal to above normal over interior districts between May 1 and 7.
It also said that there is low probability of cyclogenesis over south Bay of Bengal in the first week of May. Weather experts said they are closely monitoring the atmospheric conditions.
As it is, the Bay of Bengal region is notorious for being one of the most cyclone-prone areas in the world. The relatively warmer sea surface temperatures in the Bay, particularly from April to November, fuel the intensity of cyclones, making them more frequent and stronger in this region, weather experts said.
Odisha is highly vulnerable to severe tropical cyclones in May, a month that marks the pre-monsoon season, and often produces intense storms due to high sea surface temperatures in the Bay of Bengal. The tropical storms which hit the state in May include Fani (2019) and Yaas (2021).