By IANS,
Ranchi : The scorching heat has forced Ranchi district authorities to direct schools to advance their summer vacations as temperatures crossed 40 degrees at several places.
Around 10 schools announced the start of summer holidays Monday itself in light of the directive.
“We will close our school from Tuesday,” said D.R. Singh, principal of DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir here.
The heat wave has already claimed four lives in Jharkhand.
While the mercury touched 40 degrees celsius in Ranchi Sunday, it was 44 degrees in Dhanbad. Jamshepur and Bokaro also saw temperatures of up to 43 degrees celsius.
The Ranchi district administration had earlier directed schools to change their timings due to the oppressive heat.
While schools began at 6.30 a.m. instead of the usual 8.30 a.m., they were asked to end classes by 11.30 in the morning so that children could reach home by afternoon.