Bhubaneswar: For the second day in a row, residents of the Odisha capital faced severe discomfort as high humidity and rising temperatures caused the real-feel index to soar to a blistering 54°C by mid-afternoon on Friday, making it feel significantly hotter than the actual temperature of 37°C.
The previous afternoon, the city had recorded a heat index of 52°C, with temperatures exceeding normal levels by 4.5°C, reaching a season-high of 42.2°C. Moisture-laden easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal contributed to these oppressive conditions. The apparent temperature, which reflects how hot it feels to the human body when factoring in relative humidity and air temperature, was particularly high.
This morning, Bhubaneswar woke up to a ‘feels-like’ temperature of 44°C, with the mercury at 31.4°C and humidity at 84%. By 11:30 am, the heat index, calculated using the NOAA heat index formula, had climbed to 49°C, as the city recorded a temperature of 35°C with 68% humidity, according to senior meteorologist Umasankar Das.
Jharsuguda remained the hottest location in the state, registering 44.4°C by 2:30 pm, followed by Sambalpur at 43.4°C and Hirakud at 43°C, as the state continued to endure severe heatwave conditions.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange warning for severe heatwave in isolated areas of Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, and Balangir from May 22-23 and May 25-26. Similar conditions are expected in Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Angul, Boudh, and Balangir on May 24.
Heatwave conditions may also affect isolated regions in Bhadrak, Kendrapada, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Angul, Sonepur, Boudh, and Nayagarh on May 22-23.
Additionally, hot and humid weather may persist in isolated areas of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Deogarh, Sonepur, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khurda, and Nayagarh until May 26. Warm nights are also anticipated in Sambalpur and Balasore during this timeframe.
The weather agency has warned of thunderstorms with lightning, hail, and gusty winds (40-50 km/h) in the afternoon or evening hours in Angul, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Boudh, and Balangir districts on May 22. Thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds (40-50 km/h) may also occur from May 22-26 in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sonepur, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Puri, Khurda, and Nayagarh districts.
