DHAKA: A Bangladeshi court ordered a countrywide shutdown of schools on Monday due to an ongoing heatwave, the day after the government sent millions of students back to class despite searing temperatures.
Extensive scientific research has found climate change is causing heat waves to become longer, more intense and more frequent.
Average temperatures in Dhaka over the past week have been recorded 4-5 degrees Celsius (7.2-9 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the thirty-year average for the corresponding period.
The government said at least 7 people had died as a result of the extreme heat since the start of this month, with maximum temperatures in Dhaka forecast to remain above forty degrees until Thursday, according to AFP.
Deputy Attorney General Sheikh Saifuzzaman said that a two-judge bench of the High Court passed an order shutting down all primary and secondary schools and madrasas due to the heatwave.
Saifuzzaman said the court passed the order after it was told by lawyers that several teachers had died in the heatwave, without providing further details.
Bangladesh follows the Sunday-Thursday Islamic work week. The order directs schools to remain closed for about 32 million students until the coming Sunday.
Weeklong School Shutdown in Bangladesh
The government had imposed a weeklong national school shutdown starting from April 21 as the heatwave persisted, but lifted the order over the weekend.
Classes had resumed in the capital on Sunday with anxious relatives accompanying their children to the school gates.
