Odisha reels under intense heatwave conditions
Pradeep Kumar Panda
Darshan Samikhya, Bhubaneswar
Odisha has been reeling under heatwave conditions since March 2024. The situation has become more intense since the first week of April. The entire state has virtually become a blast furnace, with temperatures soaring above 40°C at 31 of the 38 monitoring centres of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) located in the state. Odisha has two of the hottest place in the world.
According to the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre of IMD, on 30 April, 2024, its centre in the western Odisha city of Baleswar recorded a maximum temperature of 46.2°C, followed by Baripada with 46.1°C. IMD has issued an ‘red alert’ for heatwave to severe heatwave across the state.
As per the special bulletin issued by IMD, hot weather conditions are very likely to prevail in some districts of Odisha. Maximum temperature is very likely to be above normal by 4-6°C at a few places over the districts during the next month also.
The capital city of Bhubaneswar recorded a temperature of 45.2°C. Bargarh, a town in western Odisha, recorded 44.9°C, while another five centres, including Boudh, Balangir, Titlagarh, Nayagarh and Talcher, recorded 44°C each. A total of six centres, including Angul, Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Dhenkanal, Cuttack and Nuapada, recorded temperatures between 43.9°C and 43.2°C.
Sundargarh, Jagatsinghpur and Khurda recorded temperatures above 42°C while Kendrapara, Phulbani, Bhadrak, Rayagada, Bhawanipatna and Malkangiri centres recorded above 41°C. Keonjhar, Deogarh, Baripada, Paralakhemundi, Chandbali and Chhatrapur recorded above 40 °C.
Heatwave conditions began in Odisha in mid-April and continued through May, but from June, it became more severe. From the first week of the April, most of the IMD centres have been consistently recording temperatures above 40°C. While Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Titlagarh have recorded above 45°C on different days, many other centres have too consistently recorded above 44°C.
Due to extreme heat conditions, roads are deserted by 9 am in several parts of Odisha, especially in the western parts of the state. The special relief commissioner has asked the people to take precautionary measures while venturing out between 11 am and 3.30 pm.
Due to extreme summer heat, Government of Odisha has announced summer vacation for Schools from 25 April.
Odisha has a history of extreme heat. In 1998, over 2,000 people died due to extreme heatwaves. However, since then, fatalities reduced to a large extent to 91 the following year due to measures taken by the state government. The fatalities since then have been in two digits except for 2005 and 2010, when 237 and 109 people died, respectively.