Odisha under the grip of intense heat wave

Bhubaneswar: Intense heat gripped most parts of Odisha on Sunday despite marginal drop in some areas as the mercury breached the 40 degrees Celsius mark in 12 places where sunstroke has claimed eight lives this summer.

The maximum temperature stood at 45 degrees Celsius at Bhawanipatna, Balangir and Titlagarh, making these places the hottest in the state.

Sonepur came close second recording 43 deg C, while the mercury stood at 42.7 deg C at Angul, 42.6 deg C at Malkangiri, 42.2 deg C at Sambalpur and 42 deg C at Jharsuguda, Hirakud and Phulbani, the MeT office here said.

The coal town of Talcher recorded a maximum temperature of 40.8 deg C, while in Chandbali the mercury stood at 40.7 deg C, it said.

In the capital city of Bhubaneswar, the maximum temperature fell to 39.7 deg C from 40.1 deg C recorded yesterday, while Cuttack city recorded 38.2 deg C.

The Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office said eight heat-related deaths have been reported so far this summer - three from Angul district, two each from Sambalpur and Bargarh and one in Balangir district.