Bhubaneswar: As severe heatwave conditions continued to scorch Odisha, the toll due to sunstroke in the state rose to two on Monday with the death of one more person.
According to official sources, a fresh sunstroke death has been reported from Dhenkanal district, raising the toll to two in the state. The first sunstroke death in the state this summer was recently reported in Balasore district.
Similarly, a total of 257 people were affected by heat-related illness and sunstroke in the state so far. They are undergoing treatment in different hospitals in the state.
While the highest 60 health-related cases have been reported from Sundargarh district, 40 sunstroke cases were detected in Mayurbhanj and 36 cases from Khurda district. Of the total 36 cases reported from Khurda district, 18 patients are undergoing treatment at the Capital hospital in Bhubaneswar.
It may be noted that Odisha has been reeling under an intense spell of heatwave conditions over the last two weeks with most parts of the state recording very high temperature.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that the intense heatwave will continue to scorch the state till May 3 during which the day temperature is likely to remain 3-6°C above normal in some 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).
