Bhubaneswar: Odisha continued to reel under intense heatwave conditions as 17 places across the state recorded day temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or above on Saturday. For the second consecutive day, Jharsuguda and Titilagarh registered temperatures above 44 degrees Celsius.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre, Jharsuguda emerged as the hottest place in the state at 44.1 degrees Celsius, followed by Titilagarh at 44 degrees Celsius.

On the previous day, Jharsuguda and Titilagarh had recorded 44.8 degrees Celsius and 44 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Among other places, Balangir recorded 43.5 degrees Celsius, Nuapada 43 degrees Celsius, and Sundargarh 42.8 degrees Celsius. Sambalpur, Hirakud, and Rourkela registered 42.6 degrees Celsius each, while Sonepur recorded 42.3 degrees Celsius.

Bhawanipatna and Boudh reported 42 degrees Celsius each, followed by Angul at 41.7 degrees Celsius, Talcher at 41.2 degrees Celsius, and Bargarh at 41 degrees Celsius. Malkangiri recorded 40.6 degrees Celsius, Phulbani 40.1 degrees Celsius, and Paralakhemundi 40 degrees Celsius.

The Meteorological Centre has forecast over the next seven days, thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty surface winds (30–40 kmph) are likely to occur during afternoon or evening hours at one or two places in the districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Rayagada, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, and Malkangiri.

Meanwhile, hot and humid conditions are very likely to prevail at isolated places in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati, Jharsuguda, Balangir, Sambalpur, and Angul.

The Meteorological Centre has also issued a ‘yellow’ (be aware) warning for the above-mentioned districts.