All schools in Odisha will remain closed for five days, from 26 till 30 April, in view of the on the account of the prevailing heatwave conditions across the state.
“In view of the heatwave situation in the state, government after careful consideration have been pleased to suspend the classes of all government, government-aided and private education institutions from 26 April to 30 April,” said the state additional secretary in a new order.
The direction will, however, not apply to exams that have already been scheduled by the Odisha board of secondary education and council of higher education.
A heatwave occurs when the maximum temperature is 4.5-6.4 notches above normal and at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, or 37 degrees Celsius in the coastal areas.
The new order comes after the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for some districts of western Odisha for the next four days.
A 'yellow' alert denotes that the heat is tolerable, but there is a slight health concern for vulnerable sections such as the elderly and infants.
The weather office advised people to take precautionary measures while going outside from 11 am to 3 pm.
Intense heat scorched Odisha on Sunday with state capital Bhubaneswar recording a maximum temperature of 43.3 degrees Celsius, which was five notches higher than the normal.
Subarnapur town in western Odisha recorded 43.8 degrees Celsius, the highest in the state. The mercury in Cuttack was three degrees above normal at 41.1 degrees Celsius.
Twenty-eight places in the coastal state recorded temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius, said weather officials.
The temperature in Bhubaneswar was the third-highest since April 2011. The city had recorded 45.8 degrees Celsius in April 2016 and 43.7 degrees Celsius in April 2019.
The mercury may further rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius in the interior parts of the state during the next two days due to the northwesterly-westerly dry air and high solar insolation, they added.
