Heat wave continues to grip India; Odisha's Titlagarh records highest at 48.5 deg C

New Delhi: A severe heat wave continued to grip many parts of India on Sunday with Odisha's Titlagarh recorded the country's highest at 48.5 degrees Celsius.

Titlagarh has been experiencing extreme heat for the past several days and on Sunday the town recorded its highest temperature for the month of April in the last 17 years.

"Titlagarh had crossed 50 degree Celsius mark in 2003 on June 5 when it posted 50.1 degrees Celsius. Also, for the month of April, it is the highest since 1999 when on April 30 that year the place had registered 48.1 degrees Celsius," director of Bhubaneswar Met centre Sarat Sahu said.

The Odisha government has confirmed four deaths due to sun stroke; however, reports said the death toll in the state due to heatwave has risen to 88.

Mercury soars in Bihar:

Bihar too continued to sizzle under intense heatwave on Sunday even though mercury dipped marginally at several places.

The state's capital Patna remained the hottest place in the state for the second day on Sunday with maximum temperature at 41.1 degrees Celsius against 43.3 degrees C on Saturday, while Gaya recorded the highest day temperature at 41.1 degrees C.

Steel city Jamshedpur in Jharkhand also scorched at 45.8 degrees Celsius.

Some respite in Delhi:

In national capital Delhi, the mercury remained below 40 degree Celsius mark on Sunday. The maximum temperature settled at 37.3 degrees Celsius, a notch below the normal, while the humidity level in the air remained on the lower side, oscillating between 13 percent and 56 percent.

West Bengal continues to sizzle:

In West Bengal, Bankura district touched the highest at 43.8 degrees Celsius while Kolkata recorded an above normal 40.2 degrees Celsius, even as the MeT department forecast heatwave to continue for at least another four days.

In districts of Gangetic West Bengal, the mercury hovered slightly above the 40 degree Celsius mark, they said.

Burdwan, Asansol and Sriniketan recorded 41.5, 41.6 and 41.7 degrees Celsius, respectively today.

Temperatures fall marginally in parts of Jharkhand:

Jharkhand's Dumka recorded the season's highest temperature at 44 degrees Celsius even as temperatures in some districts of the state marginally fell on Sunday.

Dhanbad sizzled at 43 degrees Celsius followed by Bokaro (42), the MeT office said.

However, Jamshedpur, which recorded a high of 45.8 degrees Celsius yesterday, registered 42.9 degrees Celsius.

Ranchi experienced 39 degrees Celsius, compared to yesterday's 41.5 degrees Celsius. Palamau, Giridih and Latehar recorded 41.4, 40 and 39 degrees Celsius respectively, the MeT office said.

In Punjab and Haryana, maximum temperatures close to normal:

Maximum temperatures on Sunday hovered close to normal levels at most places in Punjab and Haryana. Hisar in Haryana recorded a high of 39.4 degrees Celsius, the Met Department said.

Union Territory of Chandigarh recorded 35.3 deg C, one degree below normal. Ambala registered a high of 36.4 deg C.

In Punjab, Amritsar recorded a high of 35.8 deg C, down one notch than normal.

Ludhiana and Patiala recorded maximum of 36.5 deg C and 36.6 deg C respectively.

According to the MeT here, weather will remain dry in Punjab and Haryana in next 24 hours.

Uttar Pradesh witnesses extreme dry weather:

Uttar Pradesh on Sunday witnessed dry weather conditions and Basti recorded the highest temperature in the state at 43 degrees Celsius.

According to MeT office, day temperature appreciably fell in Bareilly, Agra and Meerut divisions.

The temperature was above normal in Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Faizabad and Allahabad division, whileAgra division recorded a below normal temperature.

Highest maximum temperature over the state was 43 degrees Celsius, recorded at Basti.

As per the Met forecast, weather is likely to be dry over the state in coming days.