BHUBANESWAR: As a blistering heatwave continued to grip Odisha for the fifth consecutive day, the state reported its first sunstroke death on Friday.
Sixty-two-year-old Laxmikanta Sahu died on April 15 in Maheshpur village under Bhograi tehsil of Balasore district. After due investigation, the government confirmed it as a sunstroke death. So far, a total of 71 cases of heat-related illness have been reported from different parts of Odisha. Sundargarh district (35) has reported the highest number of such cases while seven cases each have been reported from Mayurbhanj and Angul districts.
As the dangerously hot conditions continued, Boudh recorded the season’s highest temperature at 44.3 degree Celsius on Friday with Baripada following closely at 44.2 degree Celsius. The excruciating conditions impacted normal life as at least 32 places recorded 40 degree Celsius or more on the day.
Twin city Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 41.4 degree Celsius and 42.6 degree Celsius respectively on the day. Though the mercury dropped by 2.2 degree Celsius as compared to the previous day in the state capital, citizens had a tough time as the humidity level stood at 63 per cent.
What has made things worse is that the night temperature hovered more than 26 degree Celsius in many places of the state. Coastal and interior districts recorded as high as 28 degree Celsius while western town Bargarh logged 29.8 degree, followed by Puri (28.6) degree Celsius and Paradip (28 degree). Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 26.5 degree Celsius and 25.6 degree Celsius during the period.
On the day, the maximum day temperature stood at 34.4 degree at Puri and 34.8 degree C at Paradip. This meant there was not much difference between day and night temperatures in the coastal pockets.
“The heatwave condition is attributed to northwesterly and westerly dry air and high solar insolation,” said director of Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre, Manorama Mohanty.
Districts such as Mayurbhanj, Boudh, Cuttack, Keonjhar, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Jajpur, Nabarangpur, Ganjam, Khurda, Deogarh and Dhenkanal districts experienced heatwave condition on the day.
The met office issued a warning for a possible heatwave to severe heatwave condition in Nayagarh, Angul, Boudh and Mayurbhanj districts on Saturday.
Odisha has already witnessed above normal heatwave days this month due to the absence of a trough associated with western disturbance and with no flow of moisture-carrying wind from Bay of Bengal towards the state.
Heatwave condition is expected to gradually subside from Sunday onwards under the influence of thundershower and rainfall activity but hot and humid weather is expected to return in the state on April 26.