Cold wave forces govt to revise school opening timings in Sindh

Published January 11, 2026
A child walks to school on a cold winter morning in Karachi, on January 2, 2026. — Reuters
A child walks to school on a cold winter morning in Karachi, on January 2, 2026. — Reuters

KARACHI: As a cold wave gripped Karachi and other parts of the province, the Sindh government has decided to change school opening timings across the province for a period of two weeks.

The decision was made after Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah consulted with Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, keeping in view the intensity of the cold spell in various parts of the province.

Under the revised schedule, all government and private educational institutions across Sindh will now open at 9am instead of their earlier timings. However, school dispersal timings will remain unchanged and will follow the existing timetable.

According to an official notification issued by the education department on Saturday, the revised timings will remain in force until January 26.

The measure is aimed at providing relief to students as temperatures have dropped across the province over the past few days and cold weather is expected to intensify in the coming days.

The minimum temperature recorded in Karachi on Saturday was nine degrees Celsius.

The Met Office said cold and dry weather is likely to prevail in the province and “moderate to dense fog” is likely to persist over Sukkur, Rohri, Shikarpur, Mohenjo-Daro and surrounding areas.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2026

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