Monsoon on normal course, to advance into parts of Odisha in 3-4 days: Met

Bhubaneswar: Conditions are favourable for further advancement of southwest monsoon into parts of Odisha within next three to four days, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Bhubaneswar director Manorama Mohanty said on Sunday.

A latest IMD bulletin said the southwest monsoon has already advanced into more parts of the Bay of Bengal and northeastern states, while conditions remain favourable for its further progress into parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha over the next few days.

“The monsoon’s arrival in the state would be normal if it arrives as per our forecast,” Mohanty said, adding that monsoon onset in Odisha is considered normal if it takes place between June 10 and 15.

Even as thunderstorm activities brought partial relief from the scorching heat in some areas, the IMD said there would be no major respite from hot and humid weather conditions across the state in next three to four days. Minor fluctuation in day temperatures is likely during the period.

The Met office issued orange and yellow warnings for several districts as thunderstorm activities intensified. Warm night and hot and humid conditions are also likely to continue in districts such as Balasore, Cuttack, Khurda, Puri, Balangir and Kalahandi for two more days.

Several places in western Odisha continued to reel under intense heat on Sunday. Ten districts recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. Boudh recorded the highest maximum temperature in the state at 41.7°C, followed by Sambalpur at 41.5°C, Angul at 41.1°C and Bhawanipatna at 41°C.

Bhubaneswar recorded 39.2°C on Sunday but humidity level was very high. The humidity level was between 74% and 90%. Evening showers helped drag down the evening temperature. “The hot and humid conditions in the city were unbearable for me on Sunday. Fan and cooler did not help much. The evening shower cooled down the temperature and dragged down the humidity level,” said Sipun Behera, a resident of Patia.

Rainfall, however, was reported from a few places. Cuttack received 31.4 mm rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on Sunday, while Baripada recorded 11 mm and Bhubaneswar 6.8 mm during the same period.

The weather office also advised fishermen not to venture into the sea along and off the north Odisha coast on June 7 and 8 due to squally weather with wind speeds touching 60 kmph and rough to very rough sea conditions.