As Odisha swelters under intense heatwave, the state announced on Saturday its decision to reschedule the timing of teaching hours in all schools. The new teaching timings will be from 6 am to 9 am and will come into effect from Monday. As per the notification, shared by news agency ANI on Twitter, the timings for the exams that have already been scheduled will not change however.
“Government after careful consideration, has been pleased to reschedule the timing of teaching hours in all schools from 6.00 a.m. to 9.00 a.m. w.e.f. 2nd May, 2022. However, the examination already scheduled by different Boards / Councils will continue as usual,” the government notification read.
The mercury touched a new high in the state on Saturday, breaching 45 degrees Celsius in three towns amid a searing heatwave and fierce humidity that rippled across the state, the Met office said.
Nine weather stations, according to news agency PTI, recorded 44 degrees Celsius or more, with Boudh town also logging 45 degrees Celsius. The heatwave scorched Subarnapur, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Boudh, Bolangir, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Deogarh and Angul districts, according to the Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre.
Mercury soared to 45 degrees Celsius in the Balangir district and 45.5 in Titilagarh town – the highest in the state, news agency PTI reported. The temperature in Jharsuguda shot up to four notches above average to settle at 44.9 degrees Celsius.
In the next four days, thunderstorms with lightning and gusty surface winds reaching 40-50 kmph are expected in many districts, the weather department said on Saturday.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)
