Thaindian News

Bhubaneswar, March 21 (IANS) Residents of Orissa’s Bolangir town sizzled under the scorching sun as the day’s maximum temperature shot up to 40.1 degrees Celsius Monday - the highest in the state, an official said.

Bolangir, about 327 km from here, “recorded 40.1 degrees Celsius. It was the highest of the day in the state”, director of the Bhubaneswar meteorological centre S.C. Sahu told IANS. “It was around three degrees Celsius higher than average,” he said.

The roads in Bolangir town appeared deserted especially around noon. Most people preferred to remain indoors, a resident from the town said.

Other places which recorded about three degrees Celcius more than average maximum temperature included Jharsuguda and Titlagarh - both 40 degrees Celsius, he said.

Six other places also recorded higher than average temperatures. They were Bhabanipatna (39.2), Baripada (39.8), Angul (39.1), Sundergarh 39.5), Hirakud (39.2) and Sambalpur (39.8), he said.

The weather will be mainly dry in the state during the next 24 hours, he said.

The state capital Bhubaneswar and its nearby Cuttack city recorded a maximum temperature of 35.5 and 35.2 degrees Celsius respectively, he said.