Orissa heat wave death toll rises to 28

BHUBANESHWAR: At least 28 people have died so far in a heat wave sweeping Orissa with temperatures remaining above 40 degrees Celsius in western parts of the state, officials said on Monday.

"The western districts are still burning. The temperatures in Titilagarh, Jharsuguda, and Sambalpur continued to be over 40 degrees," said an official of the meteorological office at the state capital here.

While Titilagarh recorded a maximum of 44.5 degrees celsius Sunday, it was 42.4 in Jharsuguda and 42.2 in Sambalpur, he said.

The state government has confirmed the death of at least 28 people due to the heat wave, D.N. Sahu, officer on special duty in the revenue control room, said. 

The government is investigating the deaths of 22 people who may also have died due to the heat, the official added.

However, the mercury has come down in some coastal areas after rainfall over the weekend.

Bhubaneswar had a high of 35.8 degrees Celsius Sunday while Puri and Gopalpur recorded highs below 35, the weatherman said.

The temperature in all three places had gone above 40 last week.

A large number of people die in Orissa due to heatstroke every summer. More than 2,000 had died in a severe heat wave that swept the state in May 1998.