Sunstroke toll climbs to 9 in Odisha

Blistering heat swept across Odisha with both Bhawanipatna and Balangir recording 45.2 degrees Celsius to become the hottest places in the state, even as a heat-related death was reported from Bhadrak district today.
The Special Relief Commissioner's (SRC) office said an 80-year-old man died of sunstroke in Bhadrak district, pushing the heat-related toll in the state to nine.
Eight heat-related deaths have already been reported in the state so far this summer - three from Angul district, two each from Sambalpur and Bargarh and one in Balangir district, the SRC office said.
As most parts of the state sizzled in the gruelling summer heat, the mercury breached the 43 degrees Celsius mark in at least nine places and 40 degrees mark at 13 places, the MeT office here said.

Jharsuguda came a close second recording a maximum temperature of 44.8 degrees Celsius, while the mercury stood at 44.5 degrees Celsius at Titlagarh, 44.2 degrees Celsius at Sonepur, 44 degrees Celsius at Hirakud, 43.8 degrees Celsius at Sambalpur, 43.1 degrees Celsius at Angul and 43 degrees Celsius at Malkangiri, it said.
The maximum temperature stood at 42 degrees Celsius at Sundargarh, while it was 40.6 degrees Celsius at both Talcher and Phulbani and 40.4 degrees Celsius in Chandbali, the MeT office said.
In the capital city of Bhubaneswar, the maximum temperature stood at 38.4 degrees Celsius, while Cuttack city recorded 37.8 degrees Celsius, the MeT office said.