Bhubaneswar, June 11 (PTI): Weather turned pleasant here today following prolonged rainfall triggered by a low pressure over the Bay of Bengal after a long spell of gruelling heat in the state, where sunstroke has claimed 17 lives this summer.

The mercury remained below the 40 degrees Celsius mark across the state during the day.

The 40-degree mark had been breached nearly every day at many places in the state during the peak of summer. Bhubaneswar, which recorded 34 degrees Celsius yesterday, saw the mercury fall further to 32.1°C today.

The temperature in Cuttack also dropped to 32.5°C from yesterday's 33°C, according to the Met department here.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to pound several areas of the state in the next 24 hours under the impact of the low pressure over the Bay of Bengal, the Met office said.

Of the 17 heat related deaths reported in the state, four each were in Sambalpur and Angul, three each in Bargarh and Sundargarh districts and one each in Balangir, Bhadrak and Dhenkanal, according to the office of the special relief commissioner.

Fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.

The low-pressure area over northern parts of central Bay of Bengal associated with upper air cyclonic circulation extends up to 5.8km above the mean sea level and the system is likely to concentrate into a depression in next the 48 hours, it said.

Under its impact, rain and thundershower are likely to occur at most places over coastal Odisha and at many places over interior districts of the state during the next 24 hours.