Odisha continued to swelter in record-high temperatures on Thursday (File photo)
At least 14 people died of suspected heatstroke in Odisha's Sundergarh district on Thursday as the coastal state continued to swelter in record-high temperatures, officials said.
While ten deaths were reported in the Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH), four others were recorded in the Sundargarh District Hospital.
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Doctors at the hospital said the deaths may be linked to heat-related illnesses and heat strokes.
"It is getting too hot in Rourkela and it is also getting hot in western Odisha. That is why some people have fallen ill," Ashutosh Kulkarni, the Additional District Magistrate of Rourkela, said, adding that as many as 44 people were admitted to the hospital with heat-related illness.
Extreme Heat In Odisha
As many as 19 places in Odisha recorded a maximum temperature of more than 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Besides Sundargarh, heatwave conditions prevailed in Jharsuguda, Bolangir, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Malkangiri, Nuapada, and Kandhamal districts.
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Jharsuguda was the hottest in the state as the maximum temperature in the western Odisha district touched 47 degrees Celsius. Jharsuguda was followed by Titlagarh at 46.5 degrees Celsius, Bargarh at 46.3 degrees Celsius, and Sambalpur at 46.2 degrees Celsius.
The mercury was also 45 degrees Celsius or above in Sonepur, Malkangiri, Bhawanipatna, Balangir, and Hirakud.
India has been witnessing extreme heat for the past few weeks with a part of Delhi recording the country's highest ever temperature at 52.9 degrees Celsius this week. However, it may be revised as the Met department is checking the sensors of the weather station, Mungeshpur, that registered the reading.
While some states are gripped in a debilitating heatwave, the northeastern states of Manipur and Assam have been battered by heavy rainfall after Cyclone Remal.
In the south, monsoon rain hit Kerala on Thursday, two days earlier than expected.