Rain relief in Odisha

More rains brought further drop in temperature in most parts of Odisha today bringing major respite from sweltering heat.
The mercury breached the 40 degrees Celsius mark in only four places, compared to nine yesterday.
Rainfall in several coastal areas since Sunday has acted as a coolant in the state. Capital Bhubaneswar recorded 35.9 degrees Celsius while temperature in Cuttack stood at 34.8 degrees Celsius, according to the Met department.
The mercury dropped to 40 degrees Celsius at Hirakud town which was the hottest place in the state yesterday, recording a maximum of 43.9 degrees Celsius.
Titlagarh recorded a maximum temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, it said, adding that both Balangir and Sonepur recorded a maximum temperature of 42.2 degrees Celsius.

People of the state are expected to receive further relief from the scorching heat as the IMD has forecast early arrival of monsoon in the state.
As many as 16 heat related deaths have been reported in the state so far this summer - four each from Sambalpur and Angul, three each in Bargarh and Sundargarh districts and one each in Balangir and Bhadrak, the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said.