Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has announced the closure of all schools, colleges, universities, and Anganwadi centres in the state for five days due to the current heat wave condition.

Classroom teaching at all higher education institutions in Odisha would be suspended from April 27, 2022, to May 2, 2022, due to the current heat wave in the state, the Department of Higher Education said.

However, the examination, assessment, administrative, and research operations of Higher Education Institutions will continue as normal. All Anganwadi centres in Odisha will be closed from April 26 to 30, the Women and Child Development Department has also said in its latest announcement.  Earlier this week, the School and Mass Education Department stated that all schools would be closed for five days beginning on Tuesday.

In light of the state's heatwave, "all government and private schools coming under the department's jurisdiction will be closed from April 26 to April 30," the department stated.  Several parts of Orissa have been experiencing a severe heatwave, with temperatures reaching beyond 40 degrees Celsius in certain areas.

India's Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts that small parts of Odisha may experience heatwave conditions during the next five days.  On April 26, IMD in Bhubaneswar issued a heatwave alert for the entire region; 27 cities had temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius or more, and Balangir had the hottest station, with a reading of 44 degrees Celsius.

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