Bhubaneswar, March 11: All government and private schools in the state will hold classes in the morning hours from April 1 as the state continues to be scorched by an unforgiving sun.

Authorities don’t see signs of the heat letting up with temperatures already hovering around 38 degrees Celsius in the capital.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik today. As April 1 happens to be the state’s foundation day and is a public holiday, morning classes will begin from April 2. Schools will function between 6am and 11am instead of 10am to 4pm in government schools. Private educational institutions operate between 8.30am and 2pm.

Though summer is yet to officially set in, several parts of the state are reeling under unusual heat wave conditions. A comparative study of the last five years point to the fact that the temperature in the twin cities is on a rise. The capital recorded a maximum of 33 degrees Celsius on March 10, 2007. It has gone up by 4 degrees over the last five years and touched 37.8 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

The mercury level in Cuttack too has gone up over the years. On March 10, 2007, the maximum temperature in Cuttack was 32.9 degrees, on Thursday, it was 36.1 degrees Celsius.

In the mineral-rich Keonjhar district, which witnesses hectic mining activities, the temperature in the last five years has shot up by seven degrees. In Jharsuguda and Sambalpur, mercury levels have gone up by four degrees in the last four years.

The director of the local Metrological Centre, Sarat Sahu, said: “The rise in temperature in the twin cities can be attributed to various factors. Some of these could be loss of trees and increase in the number of concrete structures.”

Eminent environmentalist Bhibhudendra Pratap Das said: “Besides concrete structures, the rise in the number of vehicles has also contributed to higher temperatures.”

The state government today said the temperature would rise further after March 21. In an attempt to tackle scarcity of water, the state government has asked district officials to prepare an advanced plan for each block on the availability of water by March 31.

“All defunct tubewells will be repaired by March 31. A control room will be opened up in urban areas to deal with repairs. Water tanks will be placed at strategic locations in various towns of the state,” said a state government official.

No buses will ply between 11am to 3pm from April 1. All buses will have to carry oral-rehydration sachets. No labourers shall be engaged in work during the peak hours of heat.

Summer vacation dates will be announced after April 20. “We are hopeful that there will be fewer power cuts during the summer, as the storage capacity of all water reservoirs is more than 10 per cent in comparison to last year,” an official said.