Mercury Soars Past 40°C At 3 Places In Odisha By 11.30AM; High Humidity In Coastal Areas

Bhubaneswar: With heatwave sweeping some parts of Odisha, the mercury soared past 40 degree Celsius at three places in Odisha by 11.30 am on Saturday with Sambalpur being the hottest at 42.2 degree Celsius followed by Jharsuguda at 41.6 degree Celsius and Hirakud at 41 degree Celsius.

Bhubaneswar recorded 37.2 degree Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) tweeted.

The coastal areas also recorded high humidity levels – Puri (80%), Gopalpur (72%), Paradip (70%), Chandbali (66%) and Bhubaneswar (64%) – before noon.

Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Hirakud had recorded 36 degree Celsius, 35.4 degree Celsius and 35.2 degree Celsius respectively by 8.30 am. The day temperature is likely to touch 45 degree Celsius in Sambalpur and 44 degree Celsius each in Jharsuguda, Boudh and Sundargarh and Sonepur by the end of the day, an IMD forecast said.

Notably, Bhubaneswar recorded a temperature of 32.2 degree Celsius by 8.30 am and 30.2 degree Celsius by 5:30 and humidity of  79% and 96% at the respective hours. The coastal areas are witnessing an overcast sky and a slight fall in the day temperature but high humidity due to moisture incursion in the atmosphere, the weather agency said.

The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are likely to register 39 degree Celsius.

According to IMD, heatwave is likely to prevail at one or two places in Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Sonepur, Sundargarh and Keonjhar, while thunderstorm with lightning may occur in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada during the next 24 hours.