Amid the ongoing heatwave in several parts of North India, all schools up to Class 8 in Bihar's capital Patna will remain closed until June 22. Patna District Magistrate Shirsat Kapil Ashok initially declared a holiday for all schools up to class 8 until June 19. However, this period has now been extended to June 22 due to the severe heatwave. "All government, private schools and anganwadi centres in the district will remain closed till June 22 for classes up to 8th grade. During this period, teachers and non-teaching staff are required to be present in the school/office and perform their duties," Patna DM said in a statement.
The monsoon is yet to arrive in Bihar, causing temperatures in Patna to soar to 45 degrees Celsius. Under such scorching conditions, it is hazardous for children to attend school. A red alert for extreme heat remains in effect for many districts, including Patna, with a significant number of heatstroke cases being reported in the state. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that heatwave conditions will continue for another two to three days.
Bihar reels under severe heatwave
While Aurangabad logged the highest temperature at 46.9 degrees Celsius, Buxar closely followed at 46.6 degrees Celsius, Dehri and Arwal at 46.4 degrees Celsius each, Bhojpur at 46.2 degrees Celsius, Gaya and Bikramganj at 45.4 degree Celsius each, Vaishali and Rajgir at 44.3 degree Celsius, and Nawada at 44 degree Celsius.
June rainfall 20 per cent below average
India has received 20 per cent less rainfall since the start of the monsoon period on June 1, with the rain-bearing system making no significant progress between June 12 and 18, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). However, conditions are now favourable for further advancement of the monsoon into parts of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, coastal Andhra Pradesh, northwest Bay of Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand over the next three to four days, the weather department said. India received 64.5 mm of rainfall between June 1 and 18 which is 20 per cent less than the long-period average (LPA) of 80.6 mm, it said.
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