Blistering heat wave conditions continued to prevail in the State on Monday with industrial town Angul recording the day’s highest temperature at 47 degree Celsius and 18 other places registering mercury above 40 degree Celsius. The capital city of Bhubaneswar sizzled at 45.4 degree Celsius. High humidity level caused a painful hot summer in the capital as the relative humidity remained at 91 per cent here.
Six major towns registered temperatures above 46 degrees and mercury crossed the 40-degree mark in 18 towns. Meanwhile, the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) received reports of 43 deaths allegedly caused due to sunstroke. According to Deputy SRC Pravat Ranjan Mohapatra, four deaths were confirmed by the district Collectors out of the 43 alleged cases of sunstroke. The Collectors have enquired into 11 cases of which seven deaths were due to some other reasons, he added.
Of the four confirmed cases of sunstroke, Mohapatra said, two came from Rayagada district while one each occurred in Baleswar and Bargarh district. The towns which recorded temperature above 46 degrees were Hirakud (46.6), Titlagarh (46.5), Jharsuguda (46.4), Balangir (46.2). IMD sources said Angul's maximum at 47 degrees was the highest temperature of the season.
The places which recorded temperature above 40 degree Celsius were Chandbali (41.9), Cuttack (41.6), Baripada (40), Keonjhargarh (42.3), Sundergarh (45), Talcher (45.1), Bhawanipatna (45.2), Phulbani (42.2), Malkangiri (43.4), Sonepur (43.9) and Dhenkanal (43.9). The soaring temperatures have been accompanied by frequent power cuts in different parts of the State, including the capital, which have made life difficult for the people.