It rained fire in several districts of Odisha and the worst hit being Bhubaneswar as heat wave conditions prevailed for the third successive day on Monday.

One of the reasons for the unusual heat wave conditions could be the transportation of ‘soot’ ~ black or brown carbon from Delhi region where severe pollution is being experienced ~ said experts. The strong westerly and north westerly wind from places like Delhi contributed to the heat wave here.

Black carbon absorbed solar radiation and triggered rise in temperature and the strong heat indicated presence of black or brown carbon in the atmosphere, said meteorologist Dr S C Sahu.

The mercury soared above 41 degree Celsius forcing people to take cover and remain indoors. At Bhubaneswar it was 42. 3 degree Celsius for the second day on Monday.

As many as 14 districts of the state recorded temperatures above 40 degree and were boiling. Angul district was sizzling at 42 degrees while Titlagarh was at 41.5 degrees. Dhenkanal, Jharsuguda, Talcher, Cuttack, Paradip, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Bolangir had all recorded above 40 degree Celsius.

The blistering heat wave conditions sweeping coastal Odisha may continue till 21 June with northwesterly or westerly wind coming in from the north-northwest region causing the rise in temperature, a bulletin issued by the Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC) at SOA (Deemed to be University) said on Monday.

The temperature recorded in the capital city Bhubaneswar over the last two days was eight degrees above normal though it may dip a bit in the days ahead, the bulletin, quoting CEC Director Dr. S.C.Sahu, said.

The north-westerly or westerly wind dumped heat into Odisha after passing through huge dry land mass of the north-west and central India.

It was caused by a phenomenon known as ‘advection of heat’—meaning horizontal movement of air which absorbed heat gradually from the surface over central India, he said.

“When it reached the coastal region of Odisha, it had accumulated more heat though the intervening region had low temperature compared to the coastal and adjoining districts of Odisha,” he said adding the heat wave conditions could prevail in the adjacent districts of Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Angul and Dhenkanal.

Besides, strong westerly wind from the Arabian Sea caused rainfall along the west coast of India but the water vapor got exhausted as it crossed the western ghats. The dry wind which flowed into Odisha also contributed to the rise in temperature. The monsoon rain may return around 24 June he said.