Bhubaneswar, Apr 18: As Odisha continues to grapple with an intense heatwave, on Wednesday, 18 cities of the state recorded above 41 degrees Celsius with the coal mining region of Talcher recording the highest at 43.2 degrees Celsius, said an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official.

"43.2 degrees Celsius has been recorded in Talcher. In 18 cities, more than 41 degrees Celsius has been recorded," IMD Director Manorama Mohanty told ANI.

"In Bhubaneswar, the record stands at 41.7 degrees Celsius; in Cuttack, 41.5 degrees Celsius is recorded. In the coastal station, humidity varies from 40% to 80%. For the coming five days, we have issued a heat wave condition warning," she added.

On Wednesday, after the IMD issued a heat wave forecast, the Odisha government announced that all schools in the state will be closed from April 18 to 20.

The IMD said that in many places in the state, the temperatures are expected to rise by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius. And in some places temperatures are expected to rise above 45 degrees Celsius.

According to IMD's Bhubaneswar Centre, heatwave conditions prevailed at some places in the districts of Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Balasore, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Koraput, Malkangiri, Angul, and Boudh on Wednesday.

Hot and humid weather conditions prevailed at one or two places over the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, and Gajapati.

(ANI)

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