Odisha remained in the grip of intense summer heat on Friday despite the slight drop in temperature which brought respite in some areas.
Malkangiri turned out to be the hottest place in the state at 45.4 degree celsius, the met office here said adding the mercury breached the 44 degree celsius mark at four places, while it crossed the 40 degree mark in nine places compared to 13 on Thursday.
Titlagarh, which was the hottest place in the state at 46.5 degrees yesterday, was a close second with the temperature decreasing to 44.5 degree celsius. Balangir recorded 44.3 degree celsius and Bhawanipatna 44.2 degrees, it said.
Sonepur recorded a maximum temperature of 42.8 degree celsius, while the temperature was 42.7 degeree celsius at Angul, 41 degree celsius at Phulbani, 40.9 degrees at Jharsuguda and 40.7 degree celsius at Dhenkanal, it said.
Bhubaneswar recorded a maximum temperature of 39.6 degree celsius and its neighbour Cuttack city 39.4 degree.
At least six people have died due to sunstroke in the state this summer. While three heat related deaths have been reported from Angul district, two casualties took place in Bargarh and one in Balangir district, the special relief commissioner's (SRC) office said.