Heatwave To Persist In Odisha Till May 3; Thunderstorm, Gusty Wind & Hail Bring Temp Down

Bhubaneswar: The intense heatwave will continue to scorch Odisha till May 3 during which the day temperature is likely to remain 3-6°C above normal in some districts, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed on Monday.

The weather agency has issued red warning of heatwave to severe heatwave for Balasore, Mayurbhanj, keonjhar, Dhenkanal, boudh, , Angul and Cuttack, Nayagarh districts during the day. Heatwave condition (orange warning) may also prevail in Khurda, Bhadrak, Sambalpur, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Balangir, Sonepur, Malkangiri, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Ganjam, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Deogarh, Nuapada. Sundargarh, and Jharsugada. There is also a yellow warning of hot and humid weather for Nabarangpur, Ganjam, Bargarh, Rayagada, Koraput, and Puri. Thunderstorm with lightning may also in Malkanagiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Nayagarh, Khurda, Kalahandi, Balangir and Puri districts till 8.30 am on Tuesday.

Light to moderate rain/thundershower is also likely at one or two places in Malkanagiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Nayagarh, Khurda, Kalahandi, Balangir and Puri.

The IMD also mentioned about Kalbaisakhi (thunderstorm) activity accompanied by gusty surface wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph continuing in some parts of Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi, Nuapada, and Nabarangpur, and the possibility of hail at isolated places in these districts.

Amid the prevail heatwave and thunderstorm activity, Odisha saw a slight drop in mercury levels with Keonjhar recording the highest maximum temperature of 43°C by 2.30 this afternoon, followed by Jharsuguda (42.8°C), Sambalpur (42.6°C), Hirakud (41.8°C), Rourkela (41.8°C), Balasore (41.4°C), Bhubaneswar (41.3°C), and Chandali (40.7°C).

On Sunday, the mercury shot up to 43°C at 12 places in the state. Angul was the hottest at 44.3°C followed by Boudh (44.1°C), Baripada (44°C) and Nayagarh as well as Cuttack at 43.7°C. The mercury touched 43.6°C at Dhenkanal and 43.5°C at Talcher, Titilagarh and Malkangiri. Bhubaneswar recorded a maximum temperature of 43.2°C, down from 44.6°C on Saturday.

The red warning of heatwave continues for another two days while orange and yellow warning persists till May 3. People have been advised to take precautionary measure while going outside during peak hours of the day time between 11 am and 3 pm.

The state has already experienced 16 heatwave days in two spells this month. With hot weather condition dangerously tightening its grip over Odisha and weather agency predicting continuation of the same till May 9, this season could turn out to be the worst since since 1998 when the state had seen 27 heatwave days between mid-April and May.

Odisha usually witnesses 11 heatwave days between April and June.