How India’s heatwaves are shutting schools – and pushing women out of the workforce

India's heatwaves are forcing schools to close, leading to extended online learning periods and significant disruption for working mothers. Schools in Delhi and approximately half of India's 28 states were ordered to close from mid-May until the end of June, coinciding with the usual summer break. While official records of past heatwave-related closures are scarce, school officials have noted a sharp increase in such closures. This situation places a substantial burden on families, particularly impacting women who must balance household responsibilities with supervising their children's online education. Sakshi Katyal, a working mother in Delhi, described the stress of managing housework and ensuring her five-year-old daughter can log in for online classes, with her daughter's school closed since May and unlikely to reopen before autumn. The prolonged closures necessitate a shift to online learning, which requires constant parental supervision, disproportionately affecting women who often shoulder primary caregiving duties. This increased domestic workload can impede their ability to maintain employment or pursue career advancement, effectively pushing them out of the workforce.