By IANS,
Nagpur : Even as a searing heat wave sweeps across Orissa with temperatures touching 44 degrees Celsius, Nagpur in Maharashtra and Raigarh in Chhattisgarh recorded the highest temperature in the country – 44.1 degrees Celsius – Tuesday.
While Malegaon in western Maharashtra’s Nashik district was at 44 degrees Celsius, Brahmapuri (Chandrapur district) and Akola in Vidarbha followed closely at 43.9 degrees Celsius and 42.8 degrees Celsius, meteorological department officials in Pune and Nagpur disclosed.
In Bhubaneswar, a meteorological centre official said that Titlagarh (44 degrees Celsius), Sundergarh (43.9 degrees Celsius) and Angul (42.9 degrees Celsius) remained the hotspots in Orissa, while the Pune meteorological office said temperatures in cities like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack in the state dropped below 40 degrees Celsius.
Nagpur, known for its hot summers, is expected to see the mercury rising up to 45 degrees Celsius towards the month end and cross 46 degrees in May, regional meteorological centre officer G.T. Gakre said.
The city recorded a temperature of 46.1 degrees Celsius April 30, 1942, followed by 45.7 degrees Celsius April 20, 2000 and 45.1 degrees Celsius April 28, 1999 and April 30 last year, the met official said.