Outrage as high school students in Surgut denied frost day in -36°C

On the morning of 23 January, schoolchildren in Surgut and their parents were waiting for classes to be canceled due to the severe frost. The cancellation, or «aktirovka» (frost day), was announced, but only for students in grades 1-8. This fact caused a wave of outrage. In just one hour, residents left about 200 angry messages under the city administration«s post on a Telegram channel.

People sent photos of thermometers installed outside, as well as screenshots from weather websites. They showed air temperatures of –34 to –36 degrees Celsius (–29 to –33 degrees Fahrenheit), while the city hall«s message stated that it was –31 degrees Celsius (–24 degrees Fahrenheit) outside.

«This is an outrage! I am constantly amazed. Just a week ago they changed the temperature criteria, and still we see only grades 1-8 [getting the day off] even when by the old rules there should be a cancellation. Dear administration of our beloved city, hear the poor and cold schoolchildren, they are people too,» wrote Sasha.

«Make a proper cancellation, in Surgut it»s –36 in some places. Going outside in such frost is really dangerous, I«m not even talking about those who go to college,» wrote Alexey.

«And will the constant logic of these good people»s decisions function for at least a bit longer than two days? Or should we not count on cancellations this year and freeze everything that isn«t covered by three layers of clothing,» wrote Blind.

City residents also reminded that an abnormally cold weather warning has been issued in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra region.

The Surgut administration responded to the residents« messages. According to the city hall, the actual air temperature and wind speed at 06:00 on 23 January met the criteria for declaring a cancellation for grades 1–8 of the first shift. The air temperature was –31.1°C (–24°F), wind speed — 1 m/s.

«Meteorological data comes from a weather station located in Surgut, which is the official and only source of information on weather conditions,» the message said. «In case of disagreement with the information about the canceled day, parents (legal representatives) have the right to independently decide to leave the child at home or send them to the educational institution. It is important to inform the homeroom teacher about this.»

However, this answer did not satisfy the Surgut residents. The city residents asked to show a photo that recorded the air temperature indicated by the city hall, and also to check the serviceability of the measuring instruments.

One of the Surgut women wrote that in their school, if a child does not go to classes due to the parents« decision in the cold, they are asked to write a statement and indicate a valid reason.

«What reason should we give, if in fact there is a cancellation for grades 1-8 at a temperature of –36 degrees? Screenshots were taken in different neighborhoods and not a single subscriber had a temperature of –31,» wrote Maria.

Earlier we reported in which cities of Yugra a frost day was declared on the morning of 23 January.