At 40 Degrees celsius, Bengal shuts all educational Institutions for a week

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said all educational institutions in the state will remain closed next week in view of the "severe" heatwave conditions.

The school and higher education departments later clarified that the closure due to heatwave will be effective across the state except the hill areas.

Ms Banerjee said children have been complaining of headaches and other health issues after coming back from schools in the last few days.

A meteorological department bulletin said Kolkata recorded 39.8 degrees Celsius as the maximum temperature during the day and 29.6 degrees C as the minimum.

The mercury level is most likely to reach around 40 degrees C in the next 24 hours, it said.

The teaching and non-teaching staff will also remain on leave as a special case during the period, the notification said.