Heat wave: Summer holidays extended by a week for students upto Class 8
NEW DELHI: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday announced that summer holidays in Delhi schools would be extended till July 8 for for students up to class VIII, in view of the rising temperatures. The schools which were supposed to re-open from July 1 will now be functional from July 8. "Due to weather conditions prevailing in Delhi, summer holidays have been extended by a week for the students up to class eight. Schools for the children up to class eight will re-open on 8 July. The schools for the remaining classes will be open as per the old schedule," he tweeted.
The decision from the Delhi government came after temperature reached as high as 48 degree Celsius a few weeks ago. This season, for more than two weeks, hot dry winds had swept the regions, compounding the woes of commuters.
Earlier on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department stated in its All India Weather Warning Bulletin that the heat wave condition is likely to prevail over Delhi with minimum and maximum temperatures hovering around 32 degree Celsius and 43 degree Celsius, respectively. The relative humidity will be around 28 percent. With the temperature rising above 43 degree Celsius in Delhi, which is 8 degrees above the normal level, people have been experiencing extreme heat wave for the past one month.
As per weather experts, the national capital could see relief from the scorching heat from Monday. While wind flow starts moving towards the central and north India around June 29, this time it could be delayed by a day or two. By this estimate, monsoon arrival in the Delhi-NCR areas is expected around July 3, suggest experts, adding that the monsoon would first touch the NCR areas.
This month on June 11 the mercury shattered all records, with parts of Delhi touching 48 degrees Celsius, an all-time high for a June day. The previous June high, 47.8 degrees Celsius, was recorded in 2014. This temperature, 8 notches above normal, was also the highest ever across all months since the city recorded 48.4 degrees Celsius in May 1998.
The sweltering heat has sent Delhi's power demand soaring past all-time high numbers triggering blackouts in certain areas.
Power industry experts attribute nearly 50 percent of Delhi's power demand during summer months to cooling load such as air conditioners, coolers and fans. Delhi's water crisis has also left lakhs of people seething with anger this summer, even in the gated communities. The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is supplying 900 MGD (million gallons a day) of water, against a peak demand of 1,200 MGD, resulting in a massive shortage.
