Odisha sounds heat wave alert amid Coronavirus lockdown

Bhubaneswar: Amid the lockdown for Coronavirus, the Odisha government has sounded heat wave alert in the state.

Pradeep Jena, managing director of Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), on Sunday asked the district collectors to prepare a response plan to face the heat wave condition.

Jena informed about the rise in maximum temperature in the state when the deadly virus COVID-19 is creating havoc.

Jena asked the district collectors to implement the Heat Action Plan 2020 as this summer, the state is going to experience a sudden rise in temperature and its serious implications on lives, livestock, and livelihoods of the people.

OSDMA has already sent an updated Heat Action Plan 2020, which clearly delineates the roles and responsibilities of concerned departments.

Sounding the heat wave alert, Jena asked the district collectors to immediately hold regular virtual review of the situation at district, sub-division and block Levels to put in place the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the Heat Action Plan 2020.

“A perusal of the maximum day time temperature in recent days reveals that day time temperatures in interior and coastal areas indicated a very steady rise of temperature, which may continue and move India Metrological Centre (IMD) to declare heat wave,” informed Jena.