Heatwave conditions continue in West Bengal, Bihar

Southern districts of West Bengal, including the metropolis, continued to reel under heatwave conditions today, prompting the government to declare an 11-day holiday for students of state-run schools from tomorrow.

The Met Department has forecast similar weather conditions tomorrow with day temperatures hovering around the 40 degree Celsius mark.

The city recorded the day's highest temperature at 39.6 degrees Celsius, six notches above normal, while the minimum temperature stood at 30.9 degrees Celsius, four counts above the average, the Met office said.

Bankura recorded the highest temperature in the state at 41.8 degrees Celsius, as Diamond Harbour (39.0 deg C), Asansol (40.4 deg C), Burdwan (40.9 deg C) and Sriniketan (41.0 deg C) also recorded unusually high temperatures, settling four to seven degrees above normal.

State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee announced an 11-day holiday for state-run schools' students from June 20 to June 30, owing to the searing heat.

Several private schools have also announced holidays till the end of this week.

Some other schools have tweaked their school timings to cope with the uncomfortable weather conditions in Kolkata and many parts of south Bengal.

The Association of Head of ICSE Schools (Bengal Chapter) general secretary Nabarun Dey said it has not issued any circular to ICSE-affiliated schools to this effect, but many schools are adjusting hours by bringing forward classes in the morning hours.

In Bihar, Patna witnessed heatwave conditions with the state capital and Gaya recording maximum temperatures of above 41 degrees Celsius, the Met office said.

The Met Department bulletin said Gaya recorded the maximum temperature of 42.0 degrees Celsius followed by Patna at 41.4 degrees Celsius, Bhagalpur 39.6 degrees Celsius and Purnea 36.6 degrees Celsius.

Light to moderate rainfall occurred at one or two places over eastern parts of Bihar, while the weather remained mainly dry in other parts of the state, it said.

The weather forecast said Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnea are likely to witness partly cloudy skies with possibility of rain or thunderstorms tomorrow.