Bhubaneswar, Mar 14 (IANS): Authorities in Odisha Thursday said they have rescheduled working hours of daily wage labourers as the temperatures were hovering around 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the state.

The state government has directed all private and government concerns not to engage daily wage earners and labourers during the middle of the day when the heat is at its peak.

Daily wage labourers are usually the worst affected by the heat. The government has asked private and government concerns not to engage workers especially outdoors, between 11 a.m. to 3.30 p.m., state labour department secretary C.T.M. Suguna told IANS.

This restriction will be effective till mid-June.

The state capital Bhubaneswar Tuesday witnessed a maximum of 40.2 degrees Celsius and 39.3 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

The Bhubaneswar meteorological centre said some places in the state may witness rain or thunder shower during the next two days. However, the labour department official said the instruction has been issued as a precaution.

A heat wave in Odisha in May 1998 killed over 2,000 people.

Titilagarh in Bolangir district recorded the state's highest temperature of 50.1 degrees Celsius in June 2003.