Bhubaneswar, March 13 -- With soaring temperatures throwing normal life out of gear in Odisha, as many as five places on Monday saw mercury surpassing 38 degrees Celsius.

According to the regional centre of the India Meteorological Department in Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur was the hottest city on Monday, recording 38.7 degrees Celsius, followed by Boudh (38.6), Malkangiri (38.5), Sonepur (38.4) and Bhubaneswar (38.2).

At the same time, the met office has predicted that several places are likely to experience rain and thundershower activities from March 15.

This rain under the influence of western disturbance may bring some respite from the scorching heat.

As per the forecast, one or two places of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cutt...