Bhubaneswar

 Heatwave conditions continued to prevail across Odisha on Saturday, with the mercury crossing the 40-degree Celsius mark at 15 places, the IMD said.

Titlagarh in Bolangir district remained the hottest at 42.7 degrees Celsius, followed by Jharsuguda at 42.6 degrees. Bhawanipatna recorded 42 degrees, while Sambalpur and Nuapada sizzled at 41.6 degrees each. Hirakud registered 41.4 degrees, Bolangir and Talcher 41 degrees, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Rourkela recorded 40.9 degrees Celsius, followed by Boudh (40.8), Sonepur (40.6), Sundargarh (40.2) and Angul (40.1). Keonjhar and Malkangiri also touched the 40-degree mark.

The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded comparatively lower temperatures at 36.7 and 36.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.

The weather office said heatwave conditions are expected to prevail in Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bolangir, Nuapada, Sambalpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati districts on Sunday.

Heatwave conditions refer to a spell of unusually high temperatures -- typically 40 degree Celsius or more-- persisting for at least two days and significantly above normal. If such a weather condition prevails for a few days, a heatwave is officially declared.

Heat Wave Warning for 18th and 19th March 2025#IMD #WeatherUpdate #weatherforecast #mausam #Odisha #gujarat #karnataka #heatwave #Maximumtemperature@moesgoi @ndmaindia @DDNational @airnewsalerts@osdmaodisha pic.twitter.com/20pQ7qL0V2

— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) March 18, 2025

In addition, thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds are likely in Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada and Kandhamal districts in the afternoon or evening hours.

Amid the soaring temperatures, district administrations have ordered the closure of schools, anganwadi centres and technical institutes in Sambalpur, Nuapada, Nabarangpur and Jharsuguda from April 20 until further notice.

In Boudh district, educational institutions will remain closed till April 22, while examinations will continue as scheduled. Mayurbhanj district has also announced closure of schools from April 20 to 23.

Earlier, the administrations of Bolangir, Subarnapur and Kalahandi districts had announced holidays for all schools and anganwadi centres from April 18 to 21. So far, nine districts have announced holidays for educational institutes.

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Meanwhile, the Odisha government has decided to set up heatwave shelters in the districts where required.