Soaring temperature in Assam has forced schools to reschedule their timings to protect students from the scorching heat while the police headquarters have appealed to the general public to provide their personnel with water “as long as the heatwave lasts”.

According to the Met office, the temperature touched 40.1 degrees Celsius in Guwahati on Saturday, a jump of .3 per cent over Friday. The all-time highest temperature recorded in Guwahati was 40.3 degrees Celsius in 1960.

The other two places with the highest temperature on Saturday were Silchar in south Assam (40 degrees Celsius) and North Lakhimpur (39.2 degrees Celsius).

School authorities advanced the timing by about one-and-half-hour with Kamrup (Metro), which covers Guwahati, rescheduling it to 7.30am from 9am for all sections. Classes would end at 12noon for Lower Primary, 12.30pm for Middle Elementary and 1pm for high schools/Higher Secondary from May 27.

In Hojai district, classes were advanced to 8am from 9am and would end at 12noon for Lower Primary, 12.30pm for Middle Elementary and 1pm for high school/Higher Secondary, also effective from May 27.

The usual timings are 9am to 2.05pm for Lower Primary, 3.15pm for middle school and 3.25pm for high school students.

In Kamrup (Metro), schools were directed to conduct morning assemblies indoors in shaded areas, keep fans in running condition and rush students complaining of uneasiness to nearby hospitals. It has also decided to go for three water breaks.

Amidst the rising temperature, Assam police chief G.P. Singh issued an appeal on Saturday to the “helpful and warm-hearted people of Assam” to provide drinking water to policemen and women “deployed near your houses, offices, commercial and business establishments as long as the heatwave lasts”.

“Our police personnel have been advised to carry water bottles with them, we would be grateful if these bottles are refilled as and when required. Assam police shall always remain grateful,” Singh said in his appeal.

Soon Singh uploaded pictures of individuals and organisations offering water to cops on duty from several parts of the state while thanking the public. Senior police officers were seen offering water to their colleagues in Guwahati.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said his government was “closely monitoring” the situation and necessary instructions had been issued to ensure public health in light of the existing heatwave conditions.