© biswanath swain
A stretch of National Highway near ISKCON temple wears a deserted look as Bhubaneswar registered a record temperature on Monday
The capital city of Odisha, Bhubaneswar, is under the grip of severe heat wave this summer season. While the city recorded its highest day temperature at 43.2°C on 5
th April, the mercury has been settling several notches above than the normal. Due to an
unprecedented heatwave, the Naveen Patnaik government has ordered the closure of all the schools till April 20.
The city recorded the maximum temperature on Sunday which was the
highest in Odisha and second highest in India. But beating its own record, city witnessed the
highest ever maximum temperature on Monday evening at 45.8°C.
The all-time highest maximum temperature for Bhubaneswar stands at 45.0°C.
Heatwave is experienced when the maximum temperature over a place is above 40°C and five to six degrees above normal average temperatures.
While April is just half way through and temperatures are setting new records every other day, peak summer months may bring more harsh weather to several cities of East India.
Bhubaneswar has been witnessing a long dry spell since March 21, which has led to sharp rise in the mercury. Due to absence of any rain or cool winds, the temperatures has been on a higher side.
According to Skymet weather, the heat wave conditions in East India including Odisha and Jharkhand is likely to continue for another week.
Comment: Unusually harsh summer heat kills 66 in India's Telangana state