A heat wave is all set to grip the State. According to head of Agricultural Meteorology at the Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) Surendranath Pasupalak, the temperature would rise intolerably within next three to four days. It would soar up by four degrees Celsius in interior and western and southern Odisha by February 23.
In the coastal parts, the temperature would increase after February 20 and drop by one or two degrees on February 21. The weather is likely to be cloudy at places in northern Odisha, he said. As per the forecast, the temperature would continue to rise till February 25 and the weather would be highly dry. Dry hot wind from north-west part of the country would make the condition worse.
Notably, the onset of summer in the State has been slightly delayed this year. The night temperature which hovers around 14-22 degree Celsius has gone up by 2-3 degrees in last couple of days. The day temperature, which was 36 degrees in Bhawanipatna, 35 degrees each in Balangir and Titilagarh, 35.5 degrees in Malkangiri, 33.4 in Bhubaneswar and 34.1 in Angul on Wednesday, is most likely to touch 40 degrees, Dr Pasupalak said.