The Telangana government has decided to reduce the timings of all schools in the state, owing to the prediction of a heatwave by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). An order by the Director of School Education stated, "It has been decided to reduce the timings of half day schools from March 31 to April 6, in view of the heat wave forecast. The schools i.e. primary, upper primary and high schools under all managements i.e. government, government aided and private management shall function from 8 am to 11 30 am and mid day meals shall be provided before 11 30 am."
"All the heads of departments, the regional joint directors of school education and district educational officers in the state are hereby directed to communicate the above orders to the schools functioning under all managements and monitor the implementation," the order added.
Earlier in the week, the IMD predicted a spike in temperatures and said that while dry weather is likely to prevail over Telangana as a whole, there could be a gradual increase in maximum temperatures by 2 degrees to 3 degrees at isolated pockets over the state.
As per data released by the Telangana State Development Planning Society (TSDPS), several areas in the state witnessed a maximum temperature of over 43 degrees. On March 30, Kerameni in Kumaram Bheem district saw the maximum temperature of 43.9 degrees followed by Chaprala and Jainad in Adilabad district at 43.8 degrees. Areas like Kataram in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district witnessed a maximum temperature of 43.6 degrees while Srirampur in Peddapalli district saw the temperature rise to 43.1 degrees.
On April 1 and April 2, the IMD has predicted that heatwave conditions are likely to prevail at isolated areas in the districts of Adilabad, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Jagtial and Kamareddy. The IMD declares a heatwave when the maximum temperature of a place crosses 45 degree Celsius or when there is a deviation of around 5 degrees from the normal temperature.
The IMD has issued an orange warning (asking officials to be prepared) in six districts (Adilabad, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial, Nirmal, Nizamabad, and Kamareddy) and a yellow warning (to remain updated) in one district (Jagtial) for April 1 and 2, 2022.