Bhubaneswar: Sunstroke toll climbed to nine in Odisha today with the death of one person reported from Bhadrak district on Wednesday. Bhawanipatna and Balangir became the hottest place recording 45.2 degrees Celsius.

The Special Relief Commissioner’s (SRC) office said an 80-year-old man died of sunstroke in Bhadrak district, pushing the heat-related toll in the state to nine.

Eight heat-related deaths have already been reported in the state so far this summer – three from Angul district, two each from Sambalpur and Bargarh and one in Balangir district, the SRC office said.

As most parts of the state sizzled in the gruelling summer heat, the mercury breached the 43 degrees Celsius mark in at least nine places and 40 degrees mark at 13 places, the MeT office here said.