Odisha Sizzles Under Heatwave, Baripada Hottest In The World; Check Yellow Alert For 2 Days

Bhubaneswar: With heatwave sweeping Odisha, the state capital recorded 31.8 degree Celsius by 8.30 am and the day temperature is likely to remain 3-5 degree Celsius above normal for two days, the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Department tweeted on Friday.

Heatwave is likely to scorch one or two places in Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Deogarh, Angul, and Balasore during the next 24 hours while yellow warning has been Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Sonepur and Boudh on Saturday. The Met office has forecast light to moderate rain or thunderstorm activity at one or two places in Khurda, Cuttack and 14 other districts on Sunday.

On Thursday, 25 places had recorded 40 degree Celsius or more. Baripada, the district headquarters town of Mayurbhanj in north Odisha , at 43.5 degree Celsius was the hottest in the world, according to weather information service provider Ogimet.

Chandrapur (43.2°C) in Maharashtra ranked second in the hottest scale followed by Kolda (43°) in Senegal. Two more towns in Odisha found place in the top 20 of global weather forecasting site: Angul (42.5°C) in sixth place and Titlagarh (42.2) in Balangir district in 11th position.

Besides Angul, Sonepur and Boudh too had recorded 42.5 degree each on the day. The mercury soared past 40 degree Celsius in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, which recorded 40.8 degree and 41.4 degree respectively.

Meanwhile, the government has rescheduled the working hours for labourers.The district administrations have been asked to ensure labourers are not made to work during the peak hours from 11 am to 3 pm. The Commerce and Transport department has been asked to ensure that there is no overcrowding in buses.

While schools, both government and private, are closed till April 16, further decision will be taken taking into the consideration the situation, Revenue and Disaster Management minister Pramila Mallik said, adding that if the heat wave conditions persist, a decision on closing colleges will be taken after the examinations are over.