Sunstroke toll rises to 16 in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Sunstroke toll climbed to 16 in Odisha on Friday even as rains and a nor'wester in some areas brought respite from intense heat in the state.

The death toll due to sunstroke, which stood at 12, mounted to 16 this summer with four more casualties - three from Sundargarh and one in Angul district, the office of the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) said in a statement.

With this, four heat-related deaths each have been reported from Sambalpur and Angul, while three deaths each took place in Bargarh and Sundargarh districts. 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 seven places in the state, all in the western region.

Angul was the hottest place in the state recording 43.1 degrees Celsius followed by Hirakud where the mercury stood at 41.5 deg C, the MeT office here said.

Sambalpur recorded a maximum of 40.8 degrees Celsius, while it was 40.6 degrees Celsius in Malkangiri and Sonepur and 40.5 degrees Celsius in Balangir and Titlagarh, 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 39.8 degrees Celsius

while Cuttack recorded 38 degrees Celsius, it said.

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