Bhubaneswar, April 5 : Intense heat wave conditions continued in Odisha as five cities recorded maximum temperature above 40 degrees Celsius till 2.30 p.m. on Friday. The state has been reeling under scorching heat along with conditions of intense humidity for the last couple of days.

As per the information provided by the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) regional office here, the state capital, Bhubaneswar is so far the hottest in the state with the mercury touching 43.2 degrees Celsius till 2.30 p.m.

Similarly, Sambalpur recorded 40.8 degrees while the coastal town of Chandbali in the Bhadrak district and Hirakud in western Odisha witnessed 40.6 degree Celsius till 2.30 p.m.

'Due to prevailing mainly northwesterly/westerly dry air and high solar insolation, maximum temperature (Day Temperature) is likely to be more than 40 degrees Celsius at many places over the districts of Odisha and likely to be above normal by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius over some districts of Odisha till April 6, 2024,' read the IMD bulletin.

Earlier, IMD official, Umasankar Das had said that the temperature in the capital city is likely to touch 44 degrees Celsius or more on Friday. Das also predicted that the other cities of the state, too, will witness intense heat waves on both April 5 and 6.

According to him, cities like Sundargarh, Bolangir and Titilagarh etc experienced warm night conditions during the last 24 hours. Das further stated that as many as 11 places in the state witnessed temperature soaring over 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

Boudh and Malkangiri were recorded as the hottest places of the season till now with 42 degrees Celsius.

The official predicted that people may get some reprieve from the scorching heat due to widespread rain at many places in interior and coastal districts of the state on April 7 and 8.

Meanwhile, the regional IMD centre has also issued a yellow warning for intense heatwave conditions for Khorda, Cuttack, Keonjhar, Boudh, Malkangiri, Nayagarh, Angul, Bolangir, Kandhamal, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Jharsuguda districts for April 6.

/IANS