Parents and Students Demand Early Summer Vacations as Heat Wave Grips Pakistan

As the season’s first major heatwave has gripped Pakistan, parents and students across the country are urging provincial governments to begin summer vacations early, citing health concerns and extreme temperatures.

The demand follows a heatwave alert issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), warning of an intense rise in temperatures across southern, central, and northern regions of the country.

According to the PMD, a high-pressure system will cause temperatures to soar well above normal, with Sindh, southern Punjab, and Balochistan expecting daytime temperatures 4°C to 6°C higher than usual from May 15 to 20.

Central and northern areas, including Islamabad, upper Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, are forecasted to face 5°C to 7°C spikes from May 15 to 19.

Amid these warnings, many parents have taken to social media and contacted school administrations, asking authorities to revise the official vacation schedule.

As it stands, the Punjab government is likely to notify summer vacations from June 1 to August 9, 2025, for both public and private schools and colleges.

However, Punjab Secretary of School Education Khalid Nazir Wattoo noted that this schedule could change. “If heat levels become unusually high, vacations may begin a week earlier,” he said, emphasizing that the safety of students and staff remains the top priority.

Meanwhile, the PMD has forecasted some relief for upper regions by May 19 or 20, when a westerly weather system could bring rain, thunderstorms, and hail to Kashmir, Islamabad, Pothohar region, northeast Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan.