Bhubaneswar: Even as the intense heat continues to singe Odisha, the regional office of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Bhubaneswar has issued an orange alert for extreme heatwave in 18 districts of the state on Friday. It has warned that the weather conditions will continue for the next 48 hours and advised people to take necessary precautions to avoid the uncomfortable weather.
According to the weather office, intense heatwave is very likely to prevail in several places of Mayurbhanj, Angul, Nayagarh, Khurda, Cuttack, Boudh, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Nuapada, Malkangiri, Koraput, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Keonjhar districts.
Similarly, a yellow alert has been issued for Sonepur, Balangir, Jharsuguda, Bargarh and Kalahandi. In addition, hot and humid conditions are very likely to prevail at one or two places in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, and Gajapati today.
The prevailing extreme heatwave is due to the northwesterly/westerly dry air and high solar insolation. The IMD has forecast that the day temperatures are very likely to cross 40°C in numerous places in the state on Friday. In some places, the mercury may touch 45°C, the IMD has warned.
However, the temperatures are likely to fall slightly by 2°C-3°C from Sunday at many places in Odisha.
On Friday, Bhubaneswar was the hottest place in the state at 43.6°C while 31 places recorded maximum temperatures of over 40°C.
