Vaibhav Naik asks for morning school shifts in Sindhudurg as heat hits children

With the monsoon's withdrawal, the heat has risen sharply across Maharashtra and the effect of "October heat" has intensified. In Konkan's Sindhudurg district the rain has stopped and the sun is blazing, so the mercury is climbing day by day.

The heat is hitting schoolchildren and affecting their health. Against this backdrop, former MLA Vaibhav Naik has written to the state's School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse, urging that schools in Sindhudurg district be held in the morning session instead of the afternoon.

In his letter, Naik wrote that the entire Sindhudurg district has now come under the list of drought-hit areas. Rain has stopped completely in the district, and because of the harsh sun, humidity and temperatures are rising every day. Schools are currently running in the afternoon session, so young children have to travel in the intense sun. This is causing health problems.

He has therefore requested that all schools in the district be started in the morning session immediately, to give children and their parents major relief from the harsh sun.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a heatwave for the next three days for Mumbai and surrounding areas. In the past few days, Mumbai's temperature has gone above 37 degrees Celsius and people are troubled by heavy humidity.

Very humid and sweltering weather had been predicted for the Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts from October 3 to 5. The department now forecasts that from October 7 the weather in the Thane and Mumbai region will be mostly dry.

Weather experts say that this sudden rise in temperature and humidity can have a direct and adverse effect on the body's temperature-regulating system. These days the daytime sun is strong and harsh, while nights are mildly cool. Because of this mismatched weather, humidity in the air has risen sharply.