Bhubaneswar: At least 65 persons have reportedly died so far due to sunstroke even as severe heat wave continues to whip the entire state, throwing normal life out of gear. However, the revenue department confirmed only ten deaths out of the 65. As many as 17 places have recorded maximum temperature between 40 to 46 degrees Celsius on Thursday with Sambalpur town becoming the hottest place as mercury soared to 46 degrees there.

BALASORE: Heatwave swept districts of Balasore, Mayurbhanj and Bhadrak on Thursday with the day temperature hovering around 40 degree Celsius. The unexpected rise in temperatures has led to fears of a killer summer ahead. Sources said, while Balasore recorded 39 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature of the season, on Thursday, Mayurbhanj recorded 42 C followed by Bhadrak at 40 C. The mild drizzle for 10 minutes in the afternoon only led to a rise in humidity.

The Celsius soared to a season high of 40.5 degrees on Wednesday, prompting the weather office to sound the summer’s first heat-wave warning for Calcutta. The hottest day of the year so far was also the second hottest May day of the decade after a 42.1-degree scorcher on May 9, 2009. Only thrice in the past 10 years have May temperatures hit 40-plus in the city.

DURGAPUR, 29 APRIL: The artisan’s fair at Durgapur Haat, which was scheduled to be held from 2 May 2012, has been postponed till after the Durga Puja due to lack of footfall resulting from the intense heat wave. The haat, the first of its kind in the state, was inaugurated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee on 13 April last year.

The collapse of an ice sheet in Antarctica up to 14,650 years ago might have caused sea levels to rise between 14 and 18 metres, a study showed on Wednesday, data which could help make more accurate climate change predictions.
The melting of polar ice could contribute to long-term sea level rise, threatening the lives of millions, scientists say.

Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts and heat waves that nations should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly weather disasters, an international panel of climate scientists says in a report issued Wednesday. The greatest danger from extreme weather is in highly populated, poor regions of the world, the report warns, but no corner of the globe — from Mumbai to Miami — is immune.

The document by a Nobel Prize-winning panel of climate scientists forecasts stronger tropical cyclones and more frequent heat waves, deluges and droughts.

A future on Earth of more extreme weather and rising seas will require better planning for natural disasters to save lives and limit deepening economic losses, the United Nations said on Wednesday in a major report on the effects of climate change.

The U.N. climate panel said all nations will be vulnerable to the expected increase in heat waves, more intense rains and floods and a probable rise in the intensity of droughts.

The collapse of an ice sheet in Antarctica up to 14,650 years ago might have caused sea levels to rise between 14 and 18 metres (46-60 feet), a study showed on Wednesday, data which could help make more accurate climate change predictions.

The melting of polar ice could contribute to long-term sea level rise, threatening the lives of millions, scientists say.