Patna, June 8 (IANS): Bihar continued to reel under a heat wave with the mercury touching 44.9 degrees in Gaya district on Monday, followed by 44.7 degrees in Patna, where it broke a nearly 10-year-old record, met officials here said. No respite is in sight soon.

Patna Met office director A.K. Sen said that heat wave will continue for across Bihar for the next 48 hours to Wednesday evening. "We have issued a warning that heat wave will continue," he said, ruling out any possibility of rain in the next two days.

"The temperatures is likely to hover around the same on Saturday," he said.

According to met officials here, the highest temperature recorded in Patna before this was 44.4 degrees Celsius in 2006.

Sen said monsoon will arrive in Bihar after the second week of June.

"People have to bear severe heat condition for the next few days before there is some respite."

Till now, officials have reported only three deaths in the state due to the heat wave. But unofficial reports said that at least two dozen people have died in the past one week.