Telangana's scorching summers are back and students who just returned to school are not having a great time of it. With the MET department predicting a heatwave for the state in the next four days, temperatures are set to touch a sweltering 40 degree Celcius. 

To mitigate the chances of heatstrokes among students, the School Education Department of Telangana has announced that schools will end an hour earlier than the regular summer timings of 8.30 am to 12.30 pm and will now end instead at 11.30 am. These timings will be followed from March 30 to April 6 and is applicable to all schools, both government and private in the state. Mid-Day Meals will be served in schools before 11.30, said the order.

The direction was given by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar who reviewed the heatwave situation in the state and has asked school authorities to have facilities on hand such as oral rehydration solutions (ORS), fluids, glucose, and other necessities. The Chief Secretary has also stressed the need to ensure the power supply to schools is uninterrupted. The order to amend the timings was passed by the Director of School Education, A Sridevasena, according to a report by Telangana Today.