A social worker offers water in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Pix: Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 26: The state government has geared up its machinery to mitigate the impacts of a possible heatwave with day temperatures touching 40 degrees Celsius.

Yesterday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 40.4 degrees Celsius in Bhubaneswar, eight degrees above normal. Today, Cuttack recorded 39 degrees Celsius and the state capital 38.5 degrees Celsius. “The maximum temperature in February in the state capital was recorded at 42.7 degrees Celsius on February 23, 1963,” an official of the Met office told PTI.

The director in charge of the meteorology centre here, Lala Debendra Prasad Ray, said the abnormal rise in day temperatures in the coastal belt was “temporary”.

However, the state government did not want to take any chances and was preparing itself for the summer days. The state had witnessed a severe heatwave in May 1998, which had claimed 2,048 lives.

Since the past couple of days, the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack have been experiencing hot days. Office-goers and schoolchildren were venturing outdoors only with their faces covered with towels.

However, western Orissa was comparatively cooler. Titlagarh, one of the usual hotspots, today recorded 37.5 degrees Celsius.

Disaster management secretary G.V.V. Sarma said he had directed district collectors to closely monitor the situation and take up contingency measures to combat the possible heatwave. They had been asked to ensure adequate supply of drinking water in the scarce areas and if necessary, supply water through tankers.