Barmer sizzles at 44.9 deg C; Kota records 44.8 deg C

Heat wave continued to sweep several parts of the country shooting mercury upwards with Barmer and Kota in Rajasthan scorching at 44.9 and 44.8 degrees Celsius respectively.
In Odisha, four more deaths suspected to be from sunstroke were reported today taking the toll to 179. The official count, however, still stands at 17 as yesterday, the Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office in that state said.
Bolangir was the hottest place in the state with maximum temperature reaching 43.5 degree Celsius followed by 43.2 and 43 degrees Celsius at Bhawanipatna and Titlagarh respectively, MeT office in Bhubaneswar said, adding, 11 places across the state recorded temperature above 40 degrees Celsius.

State capital Bhubaneswar which recorded a high of 39.8 degrees Celsius yesterday, today simmered with 41.2 degree Celsius with a relative humidity level of 75 per cent.
In Rajasthan, heat wave conditions continued to prevail in western parts of the state with Bikaner, Churu, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Ajmer recording maximum of 44.6, 44, 43.6, 42.3 and 42.2 degree Celsius respectively, according to Met Department.
Meanwhile, light rains occurred at isolated areas in Udaipur, Jaipur and Kota divisions since yesterday though the weather remained dry in other areas of the state.

In the national capital, the maximum temperature was recorded at 41 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average while the humidity level oscillated between 31 and 78 per cent.

In Haryana, Hisar sweltered at 43.5 degrees Celsius, three notches more than normal limits. Capital city Chandigarh recorded a high of 37.2 degrees Celsius.
Ludhiana and Patiala recorded identical maximum temperature at 38.7 degrees Celsius each in Punjab, while Amritsar's high settled at 38.4 degrees Celsius.
In Uttar Pradesh, Banda was the hottest at 42 degrees Celsius and Allahabad recorded 40.5 degrees Celsius while Lucknow posted 36.1 degrees Celsius.
In West Bengal, the mercury stood at 41.1 degrees Celsius in Bankura, the highest in the state, followed by 37.8 degrees Celsius at Sriniketan. Kolkata posted 37.8 degrees Celsius.
Patna registered 34.4 degrees Celsius while Jamshedpur and Ranchi posted 37.2 and 35.2 degrees Celsius respectively.

Day temperatures hovered near normal level in Punjab and
Haryana. Ambala was the hottest in the two states at 40.4 degrees.
Residents in Bihar were troubled by sultry conditions despite light showers in Patna (18mm) and Purnea (9.2mm).
Patna had a high of 40.2 degrees and humidity touched the 98 per cent mark. Gaya was the hottest place in the state at 43.4 degrees.
In Punjab, Amritsar and Ludhiana's maximum settled at 40.1 degrees, while Patiala had a high of 40 degrees. Hisar in Haryana recorded the maximum at 38.5 degrees.