School Holidays: A Fantastic Time for Children in May—Schools to Remain Closed for Half the Month, Offering Relief from the Heat..

May 2026 School Holidays: The fifth month of the year has begun. With the onset of May, children invariably fix their eyes on the holiday calendar. Whether parents or students, everyone these days is eagerly awaiting updates regarding the summer vacations. In several states, the month of May has commenced with thunderstorms and rainfall. While this has led to a slight dip in temperatures, keeping the weather patterns of April in mind, there remains a possibility that heatwaves could return at any moment.

In light of the scorching heat and severe heatwaves, several states across the country have geared up to take necessary measures. In some regions, the administration has even released the dates for summer vacations well in advance. The month of May promises to be quite relaxing in terms of holidays. Amidst the blazing sun, the alignment of festivals and weekends this time around is such that schools are set to observe more holidays than actual academic days. If you, too, wish to know the status of school holidays in your specific state, this holiday list will prove useful to you.

May 2026 School Holidays: When exactly will schools remain closed in May?
In addition to the usual Sundays and the second and fourth Saturdays off, the month of May will feature an exceptionally high number of holidays, primarily due to the summer vacations:

May 1: Labour Day and Buddha Purnima (Since Buddha Purnima falls on the very first day of the month this year, a school holiday is guaranteed across the entire country).

May 27: There will be a holiday on account of Eid-ul-Adha (Bakrid).
Weekends: Sundays will be observed as holidays on May 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31.

Due to the severe heat, various states have released their respective holiday calendars tailored to their specific conditions:

1. Delhi-NCR: Temperatures in Delhi are expected to soar past the 44°C mark, and 'Yellow Alerts' are being issued periodically. Currently, schools in the region are scheduled to remain closed for vacations from May 11 to June 30. However, should the intensity of the heatwave increase, these dates could potentially be advanced (moved to an earlier start).

2. Uttar Pradesh: In view of the scorching heat in UP, school timings have been shifted to the morning slot. Typically, summer vacations here commence around May 20th and continue until the last week of June.

3. Bihar: Children in Bihar are suffering due to the relentless heatwave. According to the Education Department's calendar, schools here are scheduled to remain closed from June 1st to June 20th; however, given the escalating temperatures, relief is expected to arrive as early as the last week of May.

4. Haryana and Madhya Pradesh: In Haryana, the entire month of June is dedicated to summer vacations, whereas in Madhya Pradesh, there is a strong likelihood that schools will remain closed between May 1st and June 15th.

5. Odisha: Taking proactive measures, the government here has announced the commencement of summer vacations starting April 27th itself, to protect children from the severe heatwave.

6. Rajasthan: As the heat is most intense in this region, schools will remain closed from May 17th to June 20th, 2026.