3 Odisha cities among top 10 hottest cities of world as heatwave sweeps state

Three Odisha cities, including state capital Bhubaneswar, were among the top 10 hottest cities of the world on Tuesday as an intense heatwave swept the state bringing life to a halt in more than 30 cities.
Baripada town of Mayurbhanj was the hottest city in the country and the second hottest city in the world as it recorded 46.4 degree Celsius followed by coastal Balasore that clocked 46 degree Celsius, its all-time highest. Bhubaneswar recorded 45.4 degree Celsius, the highest April temperature in the last eight years.
“The extreme heat will continue to torment the state till May 4. While red warning continues for another two days, orange and yellow warnings remain during the subsequent two days. The day temperature is likely to remain 3-6°C above normal during the next 4-5 days due to prevailing northwesterly/westerly dry air and high solar insolation. People are advised to take precautionary measures while going outside during peak hours of the daytime between 11am and 3pm,” said Uma Shankar Dash, scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar.
Besides Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red warning of heatwave to severe heatwave for Angul, Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sonepur, and Boudh districts.
Orange warning of heatwave has been sounded for Jagatsinghpur, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur, Ganjam, Gajapati, Malkangiri, and Rayagada districts.
This marks the second heat wave episode in April, with Odisha experiencing such conditions since April 15 and Gangetic West Bengal since April 17. The IMD forecast four to eight heat wave days in various parts of the country in April, exceeding the normal range of one to three days. Met officials said the higher number of heatwaves this summer was due to the prevailing El Niño conditions due to which there has been marked rise in daytime temperatures in April than what is seen normally.
“The temperatures normally hover around 38-42℃ during April with a few heatwave days. However, due to El Nino, daytime temperatures are going past 44℃ in several places. The night temperatures are also remaining high thus allowing little time for people to recover causing much physical discomfort,” said SC Sahu, meteorological scientist at SOA University of Bhubaneswar.
Odisha chief secretary Pradip Jena who chaired a high-level meeting at the state secretariat asked district officials to ensure adequate supply of drinking water and oral rehydration solution at places where public meetings and political rallies are planned by political parties.