Bhubaneswar: With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing heat wave alert for eight districts of interior and coastal Odisha, the government Saturday extended the school summer vacation by three days to June 21.
The School and Mass Education Department secretary Pradipta Mohapatra said that the schools will reopen June 21 due to the sudden rise in temperature.
Talking to the media here, principal secretary, Mohapatra said since there has been a sharp rise in the day temperature in most parts of the state, the government has decided to extend the summer vacation for all schools by three more days as a precautionary measure.
Earlier the schools were scheduled to be reopened June 18. If the heat wave condition prevails even after June 21, a further decision on vacation date will be taken accordingly, Mohapatra added.
The southwest monsoon had reached Odisha June 8 – two days ahead of the scheduled date. However, the hot and humid weather conditions continued in the state after the monsoon weakened. Eight places in the state recorded 40 degree Celsius temperature Friday.
Meanwhile, the city-based Regional Meteorological Department predicted that the hot conditions will continue for at least one week with the monsoon likely to remain weak till June 20.
Both the government and private schools were shut from April 25 after the temperature continued to hover above 40 degrees Celsius across the state.
PNN