Bhubaneswar: Amid severe heatwave warning, the mercury soared past 45°C in Bhubaneswar for the first time this season on Tuesday.
The city recorded 45.4°C by 2.30 am while Balasore was the hottest at 46°C, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Besides the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the national weather forecaster had issued red warning of heatwave to severe heatwave for the districts of Angul, Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sonepur, and Boudh during the day.
Orange warning of heatwave was also sounded for Jagatsinghpur, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur, Ganjam, Gajapati, Malkangiri, and Rayagada districts. There was also a yellow warning of hot and humid weather contitions for Koraput, and Puri.
Light rain/thundershower may also occur at one or two places in Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Nabarangpur, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Balangir, Khurda, Nayagarh, Nuapada, and Puri till 8.30 am on Wednesday.
According to the weather agency, the extreme heat will continue to torment the state till May 4. While red warning continues for another two days, orange and yellow warnings remain during the subsequent two days. “The day temperature is likely to remain 3-6°C above normal during next 4-5 days due to prevailing northwesterly/westerly dry air and high solar insolation. People are advised to take precautionary measure while going outside during peak hours of the day time between 11 am and 3 pm.”
HEATWAVE WARNING