As Delhi experiences its first heat wave of the season, many schools across the city are taking extra steps to protect students from heat-related illnesses. The steps include serving hydrating drinks like aam panna, lemonade, buttermilk and wood apple beverages on the school premises. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued a yellow alert after the city recorded a maximum temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius.

Under the IMD’s colour-coded alert system, a yellow alert advises people to stay cautious, avoid heat exposure, wear light-coloured and loose cotton clothing, and cover their heads with cloth, hat or umbrella. The schools have cut down on the outdoor activities post 10 am to prevent sun exposure and heat-related illnesses to students, said principals of different schools.

Sudha Acharya, Principal of ITL International School in Dwarka, said the school has stocked several hydrating drinks in its cafeteria. “As the temperature is soaring early, students get dehydrated easily since they run and play a lot. So, we have asked them to bring cucumber and watermelon-infused water for added hydration. If the water is flavoured, they tend to drink more of it,” she said.

Acharya added that teachers have also demonstrated to the students in classes as to how to prepare different cooling drinks. Mallika Preman, Principal of Tagore International School in East of Kailash, said, “We have advised students to carry caps or umbrellas when the sun is up. They are also given regular water breaks to keep themselves hydrated.”

She said the parents have been advised not to send their children to school on an empty stomach, as this increases the risk of heatstroke. “We have suspended all outdoor games and shifted to indoor activities,” she added. RN Jindal, Chairperson of Sovereign School in Rohini, said that outdoor activities have been suspended after the morning assembly.

“We are taking extra precautions such as conducting health checkups for students, who frequently fall ill, and keeping essential medicines like ORS and glucose in the infirmary,” said Jindal. The school is strictly following the guidelines issued by the Directorate of Education (DoE), he added. On March 27, the DoE had released an advisory to all government and private schools to adopt preventive steps against heat-related illnesses. The advisory warned that daytime temperatures crossing 40 degrees Celsius can pose serious health risks to children.

The DoE outlined several steps, including avoiding afternoon assemblies, ensuring access to drinking water, regular water breaks to students, encouraging head protection during sun exposure, proper fan ventilation and reporting heat-related illness to nearby health facilities. The IMD classifies a heat wave when maximum temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius or more in plains, 30 degrees Celsius in the hilly areas or when temperatures are 4.5 to 6.4 degrees above normal. Delhi recorded the warmest night of the season so far on Wednesday with the minimum temperature settling at 25.6 degrees Celsius, the Met office said.

Typically, Delhi’s temperature hits 40 degrees Celsius in the second half of April. However, the mark was crossed earlier this year, mirroring conditions observed in 2022, when the first heatwave was recorded on April 8 with a temperature of 41.6 degrees Celsius. In contrast, no heatwave was recorded in April in 2023 and 2024, although the 40-degree threshold was reached later in those years — on April 15 in 2023 and April 26 in 2024, according to the IMD records.