Bhubaneswar: The meteorological centre here has predicted relief from the scorching heat. The weatherman has said that thunder squall beginning April 1 would help arrest the rising trend of the mercury.

In its prediction issued on Wednesday, the Met department has said that rain or thundershower was likely to occur in the state from April 1 and would continue till April 5. The centre also warned that the squall would be accompanied by gusty surface wind expected to reach speeds of up to 60kmph.

"The rain and thundershower will occur mostly in the northern belt of the state, while the thunder squall activity will occur in the coastal belt," said Met director Sarat Chandra Sahu.

Sahu said the prevailing heatwave condition would trigger the thunder squall.

"The temperature is witnessing a rising trend since the past three days. The heat has resulted in absorption of moisture in the air that will be released from April 1 and bring a change in the weather," Sahu said.

The Met department had issued a heatwave warning on March 22. It had then said the temperature would cross the 40°C mark in most parts of Odisha till the end of March. The warning was bad news for the people and the government started taking measures to combat the heatwave. However, Wednesday's prediction has brought cheers.

"It is just the beginning of summer and the temperature has already crossed the 40°C mark. I have no idea about what we are going to face in the peak season. We can do nothing, but take precautionary measures," said Patia resident Meenakshi Patra.

But the mercury getting past 40°C is a rare phenomenon here. Met records show that in the past there have been four occasions when the mercury had breached the 39°C mark in March. Besides, this summer there have been two occasions when the city had recorded the highest temperature in the state. On Wednesday, the maximum temperature was 38.4°C, while the minimum was 24.4°C.

"The weather usually remains tolerable during the evenings because of breeze blowing in from the seaside. However, that is missing for the past few days. Moreover, the high level of humidity is making life difficult for us. I expect a pleasant spell from April 1," said Bhyom Nagar resident Kamala Mishra.