Dhaka:
Schools in Bangladesh reopened on Sunday and classes continued through the weekend after a scorching heatwave a week ago, which suspended classes as the country experienced temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius.
Bangladesh has wavered on reopening schools for some 33 million students, under pressure to prepare students for exams, even as the worst heatwave in seven decades sent temperatures soaring to 43.8 degrees Celsius last week.
Many people have died across the region, and experts warned that the heat could increase inequality and widen the learning gap between developing and developed countries in the tropics.
Bangladesh, which follows the Islamic work week from Sunday to Thursday, will hold classes on Saturdays until further notice, the Education Ministry said. Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury has said schools will open on Friday if necessary to complete the curriculum.
Parents are happy with the decision.
“Children do not want to study at home. This will help them make up for the loss,” said Fatema Akhtar, who was waiting outside a school to pick up her Grade 2 daughter.
Scientists have said climate change is causing more frequent, severe and longer-lasting heat waves during the summer months.
The UN children's agency estimates that one in three children, or almost twenty million children, in low-lying Bangladesh are affected by such climate change every day.
In addition, a fire that broke out on Saturday during the heatwave and spread across three hectares of the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest where the Royal Bengal tiger lives, was brought under control on Sunday, officials said.
Intense heat waves have caused water shortages and frequent power outages, hitting the key apparel sector, which accounts for more than 80% of exports and supplies to retailers such as H&M, Walmart and Gap Inc.
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