Odisha orders closure of all schools for next 5 days due to intense heatwave

On Tuesday, at least four places in the state including Bhubaneswar recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. While Baripada recorded 41.6 degrees Celsius, Jharsuguda sizzled at 41.2 degree Celsius

Updated on: Apr 12, 2023, 10:30:44 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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The Odisha government on Tuesday announced the closure of all schools and anganwadis for five days starting today as heatwave conditions prevailed across the state.

For representational purposes only. (Rahul Raut/ HT Photo)

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who recently returned from Japan after a 9-day tour, held a review meeting with senior officials yesterday, following which he announced that all schools and anganwadi centres will remain closed till Sunday.

On Tuesday, at least four places in the state including Bhubaneswar recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. While Baripada recorded 41.6 degrees Celsius, Jharsuguda sizzled at 41.2 degree Celsius. Bhubaneswar recorded 40.7 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature of this year.

With the mercury soaring across Odisha in the last two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of heatwave in the state during the upcoming Pana Sankranti festival.

According to IMD, the maximum temperature is likely to rise gradually by 2-4 degrees Celsius over many parts of Odisha during the next five days. The weather department predicted a heatwave also in isolated pockets over coastal Odisha districts from April 13-15.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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