Titlagarh boils at 48.5 degree Celsius to become hottest place in country

Bhubaneswar: Heatwave conditions continued to sweep across almost the entire of Odisha with the mercury jumping to 48.5 degree Celsius at Titlagarh, making it the hottest place in the country.

Titlagarh in Bolangir district turned out to be the hottest place in the country on Sunday as the maximum temperature touched 48.5 degree Celsius, said Sarat Sahu, Director of the Meteorological Centre here.

It was also a record for the month of April in the western Odisha town as the temperature surpassed the last highest of 48.1 deg Celsius recorded on April 30, 1999, Sahu said, adding that the maximum temperature of 50.1 degree Celsius recorded in Titlagarh on June 5, 2003 remains a record in Odisha.

However, temperatures have marginally dropped elsewhere in the state today, he said.

Titlagarh was followed by 46.1 degrees Celsius in Sonepur and 45 degree Celsius at Bhawanipatna, the IMD said in a bulletin. As many as 17 places reeled under the heat with temperatures above 40 degree Celsius.

While the coal belt of Talcher recorded 44.8 degree Celsius, the maximum temperature stood at 44.5 degree Celsius in Bolangir, 44.1 degree Celsius in Angul and 44 degree Celsius in Sundargarh and Sambalpur, the MeT office said.

The state capital of Bhubaneswar recorded 41.8 degree Celsius, it said adding heatwave conditions were most likely to prevail at least till tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the state government has so far received reports of suspected 88 sunstroke deaths, the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said.

"However, four death cases have so far been confirmed due to heat related incidents by the district collectors," a SRC official said.