Heat wave: Death toll reaches 106

New Delhi: The unrelenting heat in the eastern region claimed 34 more lives in Orissa on Sunday, taking the total toll so far this summer in the country to 106. In the north, temperatures too rose above the 40-degree mark at many places, with Churu in Rajasthan recording a high of 43.3 degrees.

The fresh deaths in Orissa were reported from Keonjhar, Angul, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Jajpur and Balasore. Temperatures were baking in the eastern state with Sambalpur sizzling at 44.4 degree Celsius. Daytime temperatures in Hirakud and Angul were recorded at 43.8 degrees while it was 43.5 degrees in Sundargarh and 43.4 degrees in Balangir, the Met office said.

Conditions were similar in Vidarbha region where Chandrapur was the hottest at 44.5 degrees. Nagpur and Wardha experienced highs of 44.1 degrees respectively.

In the north, Churu in Rajasthan recorded a high of 43.3 degrees. The Met office said the maximum at Bikaner, Sriganganagar, Jaisalmer and Kota stood at 42.7, 42.5, 42.2 and 41.9 degrees respectively. Dust storms occurred at many places in the desert state, killing a woman when an uprooted tin roof fell on her in Bharatpur.

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In Punjab and Haryana, Hisar was the hottest in the region at 42.2 degrees, four degrees above normal, the Met office said.

The daytime temperature in Bhiwani settled at 40.2 degrees, three degrees above normal while Ambala and Karnal saw the mercury settle at 38.8 degrees and 38.4 degrees.

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Patiala registered a high of 39.7 degrees while the maximum temperature in Ludhiana was 38.3 degrees and 38.8 degrees in Amritsar.

The high at Chandigarh also increased by over two degrees as compared to yesterday to touch 37.6 degrees.

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In the national Capital, the maximum temperature was recorded at 39.7 degrees, marginally up from yesterday's 39.4 degrees, while the minimum was 24.7 degrees as against the previous day's 23.7. The humidity oscillated between 49 and 15 per cent.

In Himachal Pradesh, the Queen of the Hills saw the mercury settle at 20.2 degrees while it was 31.9 degrees at Nahan and 30.6 degrees at Dharamsala.

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In Jammu and Kashmir, authorities partially restored traffic on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway, nearly a week after it was closed due to snow and rain. The Valley experienced a sunny day, much to the delight of tourists who came out in large numbers to bask in the sun.