Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], April 29 (ANI): The India Meteorological Department on Wednesday predicted that rainfall and thunderstorms will likely occur in the next few days in Odisha and said that people are facing difficulties due to the sweltering heat.

IMD Scientist Sanjeev Dwivedi told ANI, 'The temperature yesterday was high, but the scenario is changing today... People are facing difficulty due to the heat conditions in adjacent areas. Rainfall and thunderstorms will occur in the coming time... A yellow warning has been issued for hot and humid weather...'

'Tuesday recorded the second-highest temperature of 45.3 degrees Celsius in Jharsuguda for the first time in April,' he said.

An Air India Express Spokesperson in a statement earlier said,' Due to adverse weather conditions en route to Bhubaneswar, one of our flights from Delhi was diverted briefly to Jaipur. When the weather improved, the flight resumed its operations to Bhubaneswar'.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday issued a weather warning for several parts of Northeast and Eastern India, predicting widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds over the coming days.

According to IMD, 'Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall along with thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds (40-60 kmph) with heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim and Northeast India during the week.'

The weather agency further warned that isolated, extremely heavy rainfall is also expected in parts of the region. 'Isolated extremely heavy rainfall also likely over Assam & Meghalaya and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim on 29th April,' it said.

Authorities have advised residents to take precautions during adverse weather conditions. Citizens have been urged to remain indoors during storms, avoid open areas during lightning activity, and travel with caution as gusty winds and heavy rain may cause disruptions.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Union Health Secretary wrote to all states and Union Territories regarding heatwave preparedness. The advisory urged authorities to operationalise dedicated Heat Stroke Management Units at all health facilities, ensure adequate ambulance preparedness, disseminate early warnings for timely action, and enable real-time reporting of heatstroke cases on the Ministry's IHIP portal. (ANI)