Temperature To Remain High In Odisha Till April 21, Says SOA’s CEC; Know Cause Of Heatwave

Bhubaneswar: The heatwave condition in Odisha is likely to prevail till April 21 with some places recording close to 45 degree Celsius between April 18 and 20, said the Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan in Bhubaneswar.

Dr SC Sahu, Director of CEC, said the heat wave conditions would prevail in coastal and interior Odisha and day to day variation in temperature would be felt depending on the wind speed coming from the plains of north western India.

Ruling out the possibility of ‘Kalbaisakhi’ or norwester now as the humidity percentage was very low, he said clear sky conditions and position of the sun during summer also favoured rise in day temperature.

“Though upper level moisture flow through the state was evident, it was very less and was getting evaporated causing dissipation of clouds even if they formed in the afternoon. This condition is likely to prevail till April 21 with some places recording close to 45 degrees C between April 18 and 20,” he said.

Analysing the reasons of the heatwave, Dr Sahu said existing meteorological factors have contributed to sharp rise in day temperature with several places recording above 40 degree Celsius.

“The higher temperature leading to heatwave condition has been caused mainly because of the absence of sea breeze during the day and night. Besides, radiational cooling of the earth’s surface during night was not prominent because the atmospheric temperature at 250-350 metre height was found to be 5 to 6 degree Celsius or in some cases even more than the surface temperature,” he said.

Mixing of air above the surface was not possible which caused recording of more than 31 degrees C temperature at 8.30 in the morning, he added.

There was probability of decrease in temperature from April 22 with the coastal districts recording less than 40 degrees Celsius. The interior districts would experience 41 to 43 degree C temperature during the same time, he said.

The frequency and intensity of ‘Kalbaisakhi’ would gradually increase from April 22 due to favourable moisture flow from the Bay of Bengal towards the Indian landmass, he added.