The State Capital on Monday recorded 44.1 degree Celsius, the highest temperature it had in the month of April since 2010.
The city had recorded the highest temperature at 43.6 degrees on April 9, 2010.
Fifteen other places too recorded temperature above 40 degree. In Bhubaneswar, the mercury rose sharply from 9 am onwards and went up to 44.1 degree by 1.30 pm bringing normal life into a standstill.
Meteorological Centre Director Dr Sarat Chandra Sahu said temperature in the State this year had gone up by 4-6 degree Celsius in the 30-year temperature statistics.
He said as there is no substantial rainfall in the State since October last year, the soil has become dry, which is one of the prime reasons for the increasing trend of heat wave conditions.
Balangir recorded 43 degree Celsius, followed by Jharsuguda (43.1) Bhawanipatna (42.8), Angul and Hirakud (42.7) each, Titilagarh (42.5), Chandbali (42.3), Cuttack (42), Sambalpur and Baripada (42.2) each, Sundargarh and Malkangiri (42), Keonjhar (41.1) and Phulbani (40).