North Indian states shut schools early as heatwave peaks monsoon relief nears

NEW DELHI, May 21 — Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab have moved their summer vacation forward and shut schools as the India Meteorological Department warned of severe heatwave conditions across north India from May 20 to 26. Uttar Pradesh closed all schools from May 20 to June 15, days ahead of the usual June break.

The closures pull tens of millions of children out of classrooms a fortnight early, in the middle of a board-result season when many families are still tracking re-evaluation windows and admission lists. For school offices, an early shutdown means rescheduling exams already on the calendar, redrawing the academic timetable, and getting a single clear message to every parent before the gates close.

The India Meteorological Department placed West Uttar Pradesh under a severe-heatwave warning from May 20 to 26 and East Uttar Pradesh from May 20 to 23, with Bihar and Rajasthan flagged through May 26. Rajasthan had already shut schools from May 17 to June 20, and Punjab announced a vacation from May 25 to June 30, citing the risk of dehydration and heat exhaustion among children during school hours. Delhi schools have been closed since May 11 and reopen on July 1; Haryana runs its break from June 1 to 30. IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the monsoon had advanced into the Andaman Sea by around May 20, the first leg of a journey that usually brings rain to the mainland by the first week of June. Several northern districts touched 44 degrees Celsius this week.

This is the second wave of weather-driven closures this month. Border districts in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan had already suspended classes in early May, and schools across the country shifted to morning timings through April as the heat built — the same pattern that pushed classes into the early-morning slot before the vacation even began. Each summer the break seems to start a little earlier than the calendar promised.

Relief may not be far. The IMD expects the monsoon to reach Kerala in the last week of May, slightly ahead of its normal June 1 onset, which would begin to cool the north through early June. Reopening dates in most states fall between June 15 and July 1, weather permitting — though every state has warned that the schedule moves if the heat does not.

Source: NewsX, News24. Forecast bulletins: India Meteorological Department.

Related on Inkwelly

For schools managing a sudden closure:

• Communications Center — send one heatwave-closure notice to every parent across WhatsApp, SMS and app at once
• School Events & Calendar — mark the revised vacation and reopening dates so the whole school sees a single calendar

Setting up parent broadcasts:

• How to connect your school's WhatsApp number to Inkwelly — the channel most parents actually read
• How to send parent notifications in Hindi in Inkwelly — closure alerts in the language families read fastest

When schools reopen:

• Monthly Attendance Register — mark a full class in one save once the shortened session resumes

Earlier in this thread:

• J&K, Punjab, Rajasthan shut schools; ongoing exams postponed