Bhubaneswar: Thunderstorms along with rain brought respite from the prevailing heatwave conditions in most parts of Odisha Sunday, while three people were injured due to a lightning strike in the Balasore district.
According to sources, three people, including two tourists from West Bengal, were injured after lightning struck them while they were roaming around in the Udayapur beach area. They were admitted to a local hospital.
In another incident, 15 goats were killed in a lightning strike at Batasasan village in Ganjam district.
According to a bulletin issued by IMD Bhubaneswar, a maximum temperature of 41.1 degrees Celsius was recorded at Malkangiri, while all other places in the state witnessed a day temperature below 40 deg C.
The maximum temperature was above 40 deg C at 21 places on Saturday (April 6), with the industrial town of Angul in central Odisha being the hottest place at 43.5 deg C.
According to the bulletin, the maximum temperature would fall by 2-3 deg C during the next 24 hours and rise by 2-3 deg C in subsequent three days thereafter at many places across the state.
Light to moderate rainfall occurred in many places across the state Sunday between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm.
The highest, 6 mm rainfall was recorded at Keonjhar, while 3.2 mm rainfall was recorded in Baripada, 3 mm at Dhenkanal, 2.2 mm at Rayagada and 2 mm at Angul and Daringbadi, the IMD centre said.
Forecasting thunderstorm with lightning accompanied by gusty surface wind speed reaching 30-40 kmph April 9, the weather office has issued a Yellow warning (be updated) for the districts of Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Deogarh, Sonepur, Sambalpur, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Kandhamal, Kalahandi, and Angul.
PTI
