The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, gave the students in the state some respite from the heat by announcing an early vacation. The reason behind this is not increasing COVID-19 cases or problems in the educational system. It is because of the heat.
Mamata Banerjee does not want school children to fall sick because of the heatwave, which keeps getting worse with each passing day. “I will urge education minister Bratya Basu to announce May 2 as the date for the onset of summer vacations in schools, colleges and universities. Ask the private schools to implement this, too,” she said.
The temperature in Kolkata, as on 27 April 2022, reached 38 degrees.
It is predicted that the heat in Northern and Central India, including Kolkata, will increase to over 40 degrees Celsius in the next 7 days. Kolkata is one of the few places where the temperature has not reached above 40 yet. However, Bankura recorded the day’s highest temperature in West Bengal at 43.7 degree Celsius, followed by Asansol at 43.3, Purulia at 42.8, Jhargram at 42.5. Other places like Nagpur, Lucknow, Varanasi and Delhi have already gone above 40. These places are preparing for extreme heatwaves in the next few days.
In Delhi, March was the hottest month in 122 years. Pakistan, India’s neighbour, is experiencing similar heatwaves. In fact, the entire Indian sub-continent, home to over 1 billion people, is witnessing unprecedented heat waves. They are likely to have a direct impact on the lives and livelihoods of people, particularly the poor and vulnerable.
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