Chhattisgarh govt advances school summer break to Apr 20, cites ‘severe heatwave’

Schools in Chhattisgarh to shut early from April 20 as heatwave intensifies; revised summer vacation to continue till June 15 across all institutions.

The Chhattisgarh government on Thursday announced early summer vacations for schools in view of the prevailing heatwave conditions across the state.

Chhattisgarh advances school holidays to April 20 amid rising temperatures (Representative photo)

According to an order issued by the state school education department, summer holidays will now begin from April 20 to June 15 for all government, aided, non-aided and private schools. Earlier, the vacation was scheduled from May 1 to June 15.

The order, however, does not apply to teachers.

Chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said the decision was taken keeping students’ safety in mind. “Ensuring the safety of children during the severe heatwave is our top priority. The summer vacation has been preponed so that their health is not adversely affected,” he said in a post on X.

Officials said the move follows a review of current weather conditions, with several parts of the state recording temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius.

The meteorological centre in Raipur has forecast heatwave conditions in isolated pockets of Bilaspur, Raipur and Durg divisions between April 16 and 19. The maximum temperature is likely to rise by 1 to 3 degrees Celsius over the next three days.

On Thursday, Rajnandgaon recorded the highest maximum temperature at 43 degrees Celsius, while Ambikapur registered the lowest minimum temperature at 19.6 degrees Celsius. Raipur recorded a high of 41.7 degrees Celsius, according to the meteorological centre.