Jharkhand continued to reel under an unprecedented heat wave that has claimed 13 lives as most towns recorded temperatures of over 41 degrees Celsius while in Giridih the mercury touched 47 degrees.

Most of the heat wave deaths were reported from Garwha, Chatra and Palamau district.

The heat wave, which has shown no let-up for the past few weeks, has seen authorities in many places extending school summer vacations by a week.

The state capital recorded 42 degrees. While there was a notional drop in Jamshedpur Tuesday from 45 degrees to 44 degrees, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Dumka, Lohardaga and Palamau showed temperatures fluctuating from 45 to 47 degrees.

Normal life was thrown out of gear as hot winds blew for most part of the day, forcing people to remain indoors.

District authorities in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh and Bokaro have extended summer vacations in schools.

Weather experts say the intense summer has shown trends that were not witnessed in the last half a century.
 
Hot easterly winds blowing at 25 kmph added to the people's discomfiture.

The Meteorological Office has, however, forecast some relief, saying sporadic rain could occur in the next 48 hours.

"The mercury has touched 40 degrees Celsius or more for 25 days in a row in most places, something that has not happened in the last 50 years," said A. Wadood, a weather expert.