With onset of summer season, heat wave has gripped Odisha as temperatures will see the mercury soaring over 40 degree Celsius. Sunny periods are forecast for most of the country.
Bhubaneswar on Saturday witnessed cloudy intervals in south west, central and northern areas.
The heat wave conditions swept across Odisha, with mercury soaring above 40 degrees Celsius at least ten places, including the capital city Bhubaneswar, which recorded a maximum temperature of 41.3 degree Celsius yesterday.
Locals were seen using umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun, as blistering heat blanketed much of Odisha.
The roadside juice vendors were doing brisk business as the locals quenched their parched throats by drinking refreshing cold beverages.
Residents of Bhubaneswar said they were facing a lot of problems during daily commute due to rising temperatures.
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"We are facing a lot of problems due to the growing heat. It's pretty difficult walking on the road under the sun. You can't even see clearly under the direct sun, if you don't have sunglasses. To deal with the strong thirst, we are walking with water bottles in our hands", said a resident Aniket Mohanty.
Apart from Bhubaneswar, the western region of the province has also been experiencing gruelling heat, with maximum temperature reaching 41 degree Celsius in Titlagarh district and 40.3 degree Celsius at Angul district.
In Baripada district, the mercury touched 40.2 deg C, while the maximum temperature was recorded at 40.1 degrees at Chandbali, according to the reports by the meteorological department, Bhubaneswar.
The Weather department said that reason for the rising heat was lack of moisture and absence of sea breeze from quite some time.
"This situation is likely to continue for a week. There is a possibility of increase of one or two degrees, but there is no possibility of any temperature drop. The reason for the heat wave is the clear sky condition and absence of sea breeze for some days", said Director of the meteorological department, Bhubaneswar, Sarat Sahu.
The working class of India are generally the worst affected by rising mercury during the summers. Daily labourers, rickshaw-pullers, welders, amongst others slug it out under the sun to earn their daily bread.