Bhubaneswar:
Severe heat wave conditions continued in several parts of Odisha on Sunday with the death toll due to sunstroke this summer rising to 32, an official said.
"The death toll due to sunstroke has increased to 32 in the state," PR Mohapatra, under secretary of the state's disaster management department told IANS.
While some coastal areas experienced a slight drop in temperature in the last two days, the western parts of the state continued to face searing heat, recording temperatures close to 46 degree Celsius.
The district headquarters town of Sambalpur, about 320 km from Bhubaneswar, and Hirakud town in the district, recorded a maximum temperature of 45.5 and 45.8 degree Celsius respectively on Saturday, the Bhubaneswar meteorological centre said in a bulletin.
Sonepur, the district headquarters town of Subarnapur, and Titlagarh town in Balangir district, recorded the day's highest temperature at 45 degree Celsius each, it said.
The state capital Bhubaneswar had recorded 46.7 degree Celsius on June 5 this year, beating the previous record of the highest temperature of 46.5 degree Celsius recorded on May 22, 1972.
The weatherman has predicted the onset of south-west monsoon in the state by next week.