Bhubaneswar, May 1: Following days of intense heat gripping Odisha, a brief bout of rain brought relief to residents of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and nearby areas. The rain, driven by a norwester (Kalabaisakhi), provided a respite from the scorching temperatures.

However, in Cuttack district's Athagarh, Banki, Narasinghpur, and Baramba areas, the rain came with hailstorms, causing damage to several houses.

Manorama Mohanty, the Director of IMD Bhubaneswar, forecasted sporadic rainfall for South-coastal and North-coastal Odisha, along with neighboring districts like Rayagada, Gajapati, Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Nayagarh, and south interior districts, over the next 24 hours.

While the Kalabaisakhi rain may lead to a slight drop in daytime temperatures, the prevailing heat wave conditions are expected to persist. Mohanty issued a red alert for the next two days, an orange alert for May 3 and 4, and a yellow alert for May 5.

Beyond May 5, there's anticipation of a 2-5 degree Celsius decrease in daytime temperatures, according to Mohanty.

At 11:30 AM today, five locations recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius: Jharsuguda (41.3°C), Bhubaneswar (41.2°C), Sambalpur (40.6°C), Hirakud (40.4°C), and Keonjhar (40°C).

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