Bhubaneswar: The industrial town of Jharsuguda was the hottest place in Odisha Sunday at 44.8 degrees Celsius, even as heatwave conditions swept through the western region of the state, IMD said.
Seven places in Western Odisha recorded temperatures of 43 degrees Celsius and above. Jharsuguda (44.8) was followed by Sonepur (43.7), Titlagarh 43.6, Bhawanipatna 43.4, Bolangir 43.1, Boudh and Sambalpur 43 degrees Celsius each.
The other hot places in the western region were Sundargarh (42.8), Rourkela (42.7), Nuapada (42.5), Hirakud (42.4), Angul (41.9), Talcher (41.5) and Nayagarh at 42.5 degrees Celsius, it said.
According to the evening bulletin issued by the IMD, at least 17 places across Odisha recorded temperatures at or above 40 degrees Celsius.
However, there was some respite in coastal parts of the state, including Bhubaneswar, where the maximum temperature was recorded at 35.5 degrees Celsius. Cuttack recorded a maximum temperature of 35 degrees Celsius.
There was a fall in mercury level at least by one degree Celsius in the entire coastal region, even as the high relative humidity caused a lot of discomfort, an IMD official said.
Director of Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Manorama Mohanty said that the fall in temperature in coastal districts is due to moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal. She said that no significant rise in daytime temperatures is expected in coastal regions over the next 24 hours.
In a forecast for Monday, the IMD said hot and humid conditions are very likely to prevail at 11 districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati.
The weather office also issued a yellow warning (be aware) of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface wind (wind speed reaching up to 30-40 kmph) likely to occur in the afternoon/evening hours over the districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput, Mayurbhanj and Balasore Monday.
In a related development, the public grievance hearing session of Chief Minister Mohan Majhi scheduled for Monday (April 27) has been postponed in view of the sweltering heat prevailing across Odisha, an official release issued by the CMO said.
“To ensure the safety and well-being of visitors and staff amid the extreme temperatures, the Monday hearing session is hereby postponed,” an official said, adding that the next date and schedule for the grievance hearing will be announced later.
Meanwhile, the state government has also advanced summer vacations for schools, which will begin from Monday (April 27).
