BHUBANESWAR: Nearly two dozen wards in the state capital are prone to severe heat conditions and fall in the red category, reveals the heat index prepared by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) with the help of Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA).
The civic body in its index has mapped areas of all the wards in green (27-32 degree Celsius), yellow (32-41 degree Celsius) and red (41-54 degree Celsius) categories on the basis of average temperature.
The index map indicates that most parts of ward no 52, 65, 66 20 and some parts of ward no 5, 9,10, 11, 12, 14, 21, 22, 23,34, 40, 41, 49, 50, 67 fall in the red category, while majority of areas in ward no 4, 15, 43, 44 and some areas in ward no 2, 3 and 67 fall in green category. The remaining areas have been categorised as yellow, though some patches in these areas also fall in green or red category.
An official from BMC said the Land Surface Temperature (LST) retrieved from Landsat 8 thermal infrared sensor and the GIS analysis shows that temperature in parts of ward number 52, 65, 22, 23, 5 and a few other places sometimes reach upto 43 degree Celsius and beyond during summer due to the nature of their land surface as well as rapid urbanisation that radiate more heat.
BMC sources said the highest temperature recorded last year was 44 degree Celsius in ward no 23 and 52 and 43 degree Celsius in ward no 64. The mercury level had also soared to 42 degree Celsius in ward no 5, 8, 22, 49, 50, 66 and 67, while it had touched 41 degree Celsius in another 20 wards.
Extreme caution is needed in areas categorised as yellow, while the alertness needs to be even more in areas areas categorised as red. Heat stroke could occur in yellow zones and its chances are even more in red zones in cases of continuous activities during summer, said an official from the civic body on the basis of the index.
Meanwhile, keeping in view the index, BMC has advanced its summer preparedness. Mayor Sulochana Das chaired a review meeting recently and asked officials to ensure all measures are in place well in advance, while municipal commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange said another review meeting will be convened to take stock of the preparedness and finalise the action plan.
Deputy commissioner Ramesh Chandra Jena said based on the index they will go for area wise preparedness and focus will be more on areas that have been identified to be more prone to severe heat and heatwave conditions. He added that they will also prepare long term action plan on the basis of the index to tackle summer more effectively.