A heat wave has started sweeping in the traditionally hot places in interior and western Odisha districts of the State. The temperature rose to more than 40 deg C in several locations on Sunday. The mercury soared above 40 deg C in ten places. Industrial town Talcher with 43.2 deg C became the hottest spot. Other places where the temperature rose above 40 deg C were Bhawanipatna (42.2), Titilagarh (42.0), Angul (41.7), Balangir (41.1), Sambalpur (41.0), Jharsuguda (40.6), Malkangiri (40.4), Sonepur (40.2) and Hirakud (40.2). As a sigh of relief for the residents of Bhubaneswar, the mercury level didn’t cross 36 deg C in the city.