Sunstroke toll rises to 12 in Odisha, rains bring respite

Sunstroke toll climbed to 12 in Odisha today even as rains triggered by a depression over the Bay of Bengal and a nor'wester in some areas brought respite from scorching heat.
The death toll due to sunstroke, which stood at 11, mounted to 12 so far this summer with one more casualty reported from Bargarh district, the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said in a statement.
With this, four heat-related deaths have been reported from Sambalpur, while three deaths each took place in Angul and Bargarh districts and one each in Balangir and Bhadrak, the statement said.
With the temperature sliding in many areas following rains, the mercury breached the 40 degrees Celsius mark in only four places in the state, all in the western region.

Angul was the hottest place in the state, recording 42.1 degrees Celsius, the MeT office here said.
Hirakud town recorded a maximum temperature of 40.8 degrees Celsius, while the mercury stood at 40.2 degree Celsius in Sambalpur and 40 degrees Celsius in Bhawanipatna, it said.

The drop in temperature was experienced after rains and thundershowers occurred in some areas, under the impact of a depression, while a nor'wester appeared to have acted as a coolant in some parts of the state.
The state capital, Bhubaneswar, registered a maximum of 39.6 degrees Celsius while Cuttack recorded 37.4 degree Celsius, it said.

The MeT forecasts rains and thundershower at a few places in the next 24 hour, it added.