Children on their way to school in Bhubaneswar.

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 8: The sight of teeth-clattering children being dragged to school in the morning has become a common sight across the state where mercury has dipped to an all-time low.

However, the tiny tots can cheer up now as there will be no more morning school from Monday onwards. The school and mass education department today decided to suspend morning classes in schools in view of the cold wave sweeping the state.

“Due to extreme cold condition, the government has decided not to continue morning classes in all schools until further orders,” read a notification issued by the school and mass education department.

Minister of state for school and mass education Pratap Jena said the order applied to all schools, including those run by non-government institutions.

There was no let up in the cold wave conditions prevailing in the state with Phulbani today recording the lowest temperature of 3 degree Celsius.

Mercury dipped to the single digit level at several other places in the state with Keonjhar recording 5.2 degree Celsius and Titlagarh registering 5.5 degrees.

Among other places, Sambalpur recorded 5.7 degree Celsius while Sundergarh had a low of 5.9 degrees and Bhawanipatna and Baripada followed close behind with 6.5 degree and 6.6 degree Celsius, respectively.

Officials of the meteorological department here said cold wave conditions were likely to prevail in interior parts of the state for the next 48 hours.

Weather expert and director of the Bhubaneswar meteorological centre Sarat Chandra Sahu said that with a cold wave sweeping central and northwest India, the effect was bound to be felt in the state. “The cold winds from the Himalayan region are also impacting the state,” he said, adding that cold wave conditions were likely to continue for another four to five days.

The state government has taken steps to help the homeless during the winter. While three night shelters for them have already been set up in the state, more such facilities are likely to come up soon.

“Similar centres would also be set up in other parts of the state,” said an official.