Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, May 26, 2015 :

There seems to be no relief for the people living in western Odisha while the populace has some relief from the blistering heat wave that hit Odisha on May 20 recording more than 40 degree Celsius in almost half of the state.

The interior districts in the state continue to have temperature above 45 degree Celsius.

The heat wave in Odisha started on May 20th recording temperature more than 40 degree in almost half of Odisha. It gradually intensified and became severe heat wave on May 24 which further gone up on May 25 with recorded temperature more than 46 degree at six place and more than 40 degree Celsius at 19 places. Anugul recorded the higher temperature of 47 degree on Monday.

The severe temperature continues unabated with Anugul recording 47 degree for the second day. Titlagarh, which is a hotspot in the state, recorded 47.4 degree, the highest temperature in the state.

Meteorology department has announced red box alert for two days.

Prof. S Pasupalak, Agro meteorologist, Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology [OUAT] in his forecast for the next week says, “The heat wave is likely to continue in western Odisha adjoining Chatisgarh and Jharkhand. Due to cyclonic circulation predicted earlier from Telengana to Ranchi, the free flow of dry hot north westerly wind in coastal Odisha is likely to be arrested from Wednesday and as a result mercury will drop in coastal Odisha. Bhubaneswar is likely to have temperature of 37 to 38 degree from the next four days. However, in western Odisha, there is no respite from the heat wave. The temperature is likely to increase to 47 degree at several places in western Odisha on May 29th. Even after that the heat wave slightly abated form will continue up to June 4th. The temperature will drop in the wake of pre-monsoon rainfall after June 4th. The present weather condition indicates monsoon is not likely to reach Odisha before June 14th”.

The hottest place in the state was Angul, which recorded the season’s highest temperature of 47 degrees on Monday, but Titlagarh recorded mercury shooting up to 47.6 degrees today. Temperature remained above 45 degrees in Angul (45.1), Jharsuguda (46), Sambalpur (46.4), Hirakud (46.6), Bhawanipatna (45.7), Bolangir (46) and Sonepur (45.2).

However, the temperature fell appreciably in the coastal districts with most places recording temperatures below 40 degrees. The state capital which had recorded the season’s highest temperature of 45.4 degrees yesterday, witnessed a drastic fall in temperature by 5.6 degrees to plummet to 39.8 degrees today.