Bhubaneswar: Residents of Odisha capital endured intense discomfort for the second consecutive day as high humidity and climbing temperatures drove the real-feel index to a scorching 54°C by mid-afternoon on Friday, making the heat feel far more oppressive than the actual temperature of 37°C.
The city had recorded a heat index of 52°C the previous afternoon as mercury soared past the normal by 4.5°C, recording the season’s highest temperature at 42.2°C, with moisture-laden easterly winds from Bay of Bengal contributing to the sultry conditions. Also known as the apparent temperature, it is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature.
Bhubaneswar woke up this morning to a blistering ‘feels-like’ temperature of 44°C with mercury at 31.4°C along with humidity of 84%. The heat index, calculated on the basis of NOAA heat index formula, rose to 49°C by 11.30 am, as the city recorded a temperature of 35°C along with humidity of 68%, according to senior meteorologist Umasankar Das.
Jharsuguda continued to be the hottest place in the state at 44.4°C by 2.30 pm, followed by Sambalpur (43.4°C) and Hirakud (43°C) as the state continued to reel under severe heatwave conditions.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange warning of severe heatwave for isolated places in the districts of Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and Balangir on May 22-23; and May 25-26. Similar conditions may prevail in Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Angul, Boudh and Balangir on May 24.
Heatwave conditions may prevail at isolated places in the districts of Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Angul, Sonepur, Boudh and Nayagarh on May 22-23.
Hot and humid conditions may also continue at isolated places in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Deogarh, Sonepur, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khurda and Nayagarh till May 26. The districts of Sambalpur and Balasore may also experience warm nights during this period.
The weather agency has also warned of thunderstorm accompanied by lightning, hailstorm and gusty surface wind (40-50 kmph) in the afternoon/evening hours at one or two places in Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Boudh and Balangir districts on May 22. Thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and gusty surface wind (40-50 kmph) may also occur in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sonepur, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khurda and Nayagarh districts from May 22-26.
