Kashmir Valley Sweats due to Heatwave, School Timings Altered to Avoid the Heat

As Kashmir Valley sweats off due to a severe heatwave, school authorities have done their bit well to spare teachers and students from the heat. School timings in the valley, from May 26, will be changed to begin early in the morning with the objective of avoiding the heat in the afternoon.

It has been instructed, at the behest of the Directorate of School Education, Kashmir (DSEK), that schools in the municipal corporation zone of Srinagar will open from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM. For schools located in zones where there is no municipal corporation, the timings have been set 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The instruction has been issued for all government and government-recommended private schools with strict orders to implement the new timetables.

The heat follows Srinagar recording a sizzling 34.4°C Thursday—close to nine degrees higher than normal seasonal—a near-record high day in one of the nation's hottest-ever temperatures, which otherwise has seen more temperate summers.

"We have never experienced so much heat in May," said Shabir Ahmad, a parent who resides in Srinagar city center. "It is a wise decision to change school timings. Children cannot learn in ovens-like classrooms." said People and concerned parents

Although the remaining part of India is already in the middle of summer vacations, Kashmir Valley also has a definite conventional academic calendar. The states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu already started their summer vacation as per the climate that dominated these states.

Since, Delhi schools are closed from May 11 to June 30, and Uttar Pradesh schools have their holiday season from May 20 to June 15. School-going kids in Madhya Pradesh receive holidays from May 1 to June 15.

As temperatures across the world increase and climatic change makes its presence felt, shifting the timings of schools may be the new norm and not the exception even for regions such as Kashmir, where heatwaves were once an exception and not the rule.