Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday advised the administration to keep all anganwadi centres and schools closed from April 12 till April 16 in light of rising temperatures across the state.
He also instructed officials to ensure smooth provision of drinking water and steady power supply.
“In light of high heat wave condition, anganwadis and all schools, both government and private up to Class 12, will stay closed from tomorrow till April 16,” Mr Patnaik stated in an official order.
Odisha Tuesday transformed into a seething furnace as the thermometer reached the 40-degree Celsius level at nine places.
Baripada recorded the highest temperature at 41.6 degrees Celsius, while state capital Bhubaneswar experienced a maximum temperature of 40.7 degrees Celsius, the Met Department said.
The IMD has issued a heat-wave warning for various districts from April 13-15, including Balasore, Sundergarh, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur and Jharsuguda.
“Due to northwesterly/westerly dry air and high solar insolation, the maximum temperature is very likely to rise further by 3-4 degrees Celsius in interior Odisha during the next four days, and at many places in other districts of the state,” it said.
Prasanta Patnaik 
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