Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha continue to blaze with a searing 40°C for 3rd consecutive day. The largest city of the state also earns the distinction of being the hottest city in India for the last 3 days in a row. Day maximum temperature was recorded at 40.4°C, 40.6°C and 40.0°C on 26th, 27th and 28th February 2021.
The mean monthly normal of Bhubaneswar for the month of February stands at 31.5°C and the average of Feb 2021 has turned out to be 37.4°C, nearly 6°C above the bar. This is a record high for Bhubaneswar and is also aligned with the national capital Delhi which recorded February mean temperature at 27.9°C, 4°C above the normal to be the 2nd warmest February in the last 120 years. During the last 10 years, Bhubaneswar recorded the highest of 40°C and above twice: 40.1°C on 26th February 2012 and 40.9°C on 20th February 2016.
Interiors of the state of Odisha have also been recording high temperature for the last few days. While Angul joined the capital city in scoring above 40°C, many other towns like Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Koraput, Titlagarh and Keonjhargarh have recorded temperature 4-6°C above the normal nearly amounting to heatwave conditions. The coastal city of Chandbali was trounced with high humidity and temperature of 38.2°C, 6°C above the normal.
Scorching conditions for the state earlier than normal dates are attributed to displacement of semi-permanent anti-cyclone. This weather feature invariably marked over the North Bay of Bengal is responsible for throwing moist air along and off the coast mitigating heat factor. Conditions are favourable for the anticyclone to resume a normal position in the next 48 hours. Accordingly, a 2-4°C drop in temperature is likely albeit with a higher level of humidity. Dry weather conditions are expected over the next 10 days for the entire Odisha.
