Bhubaneswar: Amid the prevailing sultry weather conditions with day temperature breaching the 40°C mark, speculation is rife about possibility of early summer vacation for school students in Odisha.
Though the Odisha government is yet to make any announcement, special relief commissioner’s (SRC) office has directed all district collectors to advice citizens to take precautionary measures while going outside between 11 am and 3.30 pm.
“The SRC convenes a meeting on heatwave and subsequently, a decision is taken regarding school holidays. If our department receives any suggestion from the district collectors about excessive heat, we will review it and make an announcement accordingly at the appropriate time to ensure the safety of the students,” School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond said, adding that summer vacation as per the academic calendar usually starts around May 10 and continues till June 16.
Keeping in view the rising temperature, the department had announced morning classes from 6.30 am to 10.30 am for all schools from April 2.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the day temperature is likely to touch 45°C in western Odisha this week with a heatwave warning for Balangir, Jharsuguda and Sambalpur districts on April 18-19. Hot and humid conditions may also prevail at isolated places in the districts of Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapada, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati.
The IMD has predicted a gradual rise in the day temperature by 2-3°C during the next 2 days. The maximum temperature is unlikely to witness any large change during the subsequent 2 days and again rise by 2-3°C thereafter across the state.
