BHUBANESWAR: After a brief lull, heatwave made a comeback to the state on Tuesday with mercury-level soaring up to 40 degree Celsius and above in at least 29 places. Baripada remained the hottest at 43.6 degree Celsius, which, according to the IMD, is also the highest for the season so far.
IMD officials cautioned there would not be any immediate relief from the situation as the heatwave will persist for four more days with the daytime temperature reaching 45 degree C in some places between April 18 and 20. However, sporadic thundershower activities will continue in some places during this period.
Apart from Baripada, four more places - Nuapada, Paralakhemundi, Talcher and Boudh - recorded a temperature of 42 degree Celsius and above on the day. Similarly, 13 more places sizzled at 41 degree Celsius and above while 11 others recorded 40 degree C and above. Capital city Bhubaneswar recorded 41.9 degree C on the day, which officials said, was a 4 degree departure from normal.
Met officials said the return of heatwave primarily due to prevailing north-westerly and westerly dry air and high solar insolation will cause daytime temperature to rise by 2 to 4 degree in most parts of the state during the next three days. However, the temperature will rise by 3 to 5 degree above normal in some districts during next four to five days.
Accordingly, they advised people to take precautionary measure while going outside in the day, especially between 11 am and 3 pm. As per the IMD alert, heatwave is likely to prevail till April 20 in parts of Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Balasore, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Koraput and Malkangiri. Similarly, hot and humid weather condition is likely to prevail during this period in parts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati.
