30 dead in Odisha allegedly due to sunstroke as heat wave sweeps state

Bhubaneswar: Nearly 30 people have died in Odisha allegedly due to sunstroke as a heat wave sweeps the state, with the mercury hovering above 40 degrees Celsius in several areas.

Titlagarh in the western district of Bolangir was the hottest, with the mercury touching 45 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. As many as 18 places across the state recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius - Talcher (43.6), Bhawanipatna (43.5), Malkangiri (43.4) and Bolangir (43) experienced severe heatwave conditions.

Temperatures, though, dropped a bit in coastal districts with capital Bhubaneswar, which recorded 42.9 degress Celsius on Tuesday saw the mercury further reducing to 42.2 degress on Wednesday. The relative humidity also fell to 83 per cent in the city.

The maximum cases of deaths due to alleged sunstroke came from Khurda district followed by four from Cuttack district, three from Angul district, while Balasore, Ganjam, Keonjhar and Nayagarh reported two alleged death cases each.

The districts of Rayagada, Nupada, Mayurbhanj, Jharsuguda, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Bhadrak, Bargarh and Bolangir reported one death each allegedly due to sunstroke.