Heatwaves in Europe's schools

Children at the Harris Primary Academy Mayflower, located in Chafford Hundred just east of London cooled off by slurping ice lollies and splashing in paddling pools.

Advikhaa said, "I feel cooler and airier" about the special measures. These include allowing the children to swap their school uniforms with lighter clothing. The aim is to make it easier for the children to cope with the high temperatures.

Thousands of schools across Europe sent their pupils home because they couldn't find a short-term solution to the record-breaking heat.

Many schools cannot protect their students from heat because such incidents are becoming more intense and frequent.

Around 1,000 schools in England and Wales closed or shortened their school days, and authorities reported that attendance at the remaining open schools had decreased as parents kept children at home. Edouard Geffray, the French Education Minister, said that 13,500 French schools were closed on Thursday or on a special schedule due to heat.

BRITISH TEACHERS PASSING OUT CLASS

Few schools in Europe have air conditioning, which leaves classrooms hot and humid when temperatures are at their highest.

The British Teaching Union NASUWT reported that several of its members fell asleep in class when temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

Wayne Bates, NASUWT’s national lead for safety and health, said that schools are not prepared to deal with temperatures of this kind.

In France, teachers are resorting to makeshift remedies to combat the heat. Some teachers taped emergency blankets on windows, or used screwdrivers and misting sprays at school.

Researchers have discovered that high classroom temperatures can have a negative impact on the learning process. Researchers found that lowering classroom temperatures from 30 C down to 20 C increased performance by 20%.

Paul-Emile Perret Porret, 17, is a student at a Paris high school. He said that his parents booked an air-conditioned room for him on the night of 'his baccalaureat', France's crucial school-leaving examination, so he could have a good sleep.

The heat can make it worse if you are unable to sleep the night before an exam. It's good to be in shape and spend the night with air conditioning, he said.

Southern Europe is more used to dealing with summer heat. In June and September, most schools in Spain switch to a half day to avoid the afternoon heat. Spain, Greece, and Italy all break for holidays around mid-June. This is earlier than other European countries to the north.

However, longer holidays can worsen social inequalities, with some families not being able to afford childcare or entertainment, as well as ways to protect their children from extreme temperatures, according to Desiree Zaugg. She is a child rights expert at UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Northern Europe has been going in the opposite direction. Governments are trying to spread out holiday time evenly over the year. In 2017, the French government changed the holiday start date from the last week of June to the first full week of July.

Many schools in southern Europe are looking for ways to combat the heat, as more heatwaves are expected as early as April or May.

60 C in SEVILLE School Boards

Greenpeace installed thermal cameras in Spanish schools that recorded surface temperatures of up to?35 C. In classrooms, in Madrid. And?60 C. in schoolyards, in Seville. Barcelona's city authorities raised EUR100m ($114m) through a tourist tax in order to equip 170 schools with air conditioning before 2030.

Parents from CEIP Unamuno School in Madrid protested in front of the town hall in Madrid earlier this month after learning that a bid they won last year for air conditioning, fans and shade in schoolyards had been allocated to replace windows in 'another school.

France has 6200 projects underway to reduce heat in schools, as part of the EUR800 million allocated towards climate adaptation.

Venetitay said that air conditioning is not the only solution to adapting schools. French unions are talking with their counterparts in southern Europe about possible solutions.

She said that these?options? include adding plants to the schoolyards, and installing window filtering, which can?lower temperatures by 4 C. She added that exam times might need to be restricted?to the mornings when heatwaves are present.

Thierry Pajot is the president of the School Principals' Union. He told FranceInfo that when France experiences its hottest day in history, it's sometimes best to send the pupils home.

He said: "I don't want to hear about a student or a staff member dying because of the heatwave."

(source: Reuters)