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🇪🇸 Spain /Culture & Society

Unusually Hot September Marks the Return to Class in Schools Not Ready for the Heat

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • More than 8.2 million students and 806,000 teachers are returning to Spanish classrooms during an unusually hot September.
  • The national weather agency expects temperatures four to five degrees above normal in the early part of the month, with several records possible.
  • Teacher unions plan protests in several regions, citing inadequate classroom cooling and temperatures that have exceeded 35 degrees in some schools.

The school year is beginning in Spain with temperatures far outside the norm, while many classrooms remain unprepared for the heat. Teacher unions are planning protests in several regions, including demands for adequate climate control.

Students in early childhood and primary education returned on Monday in the Madrid region and the Basque Country. Schools in Navarra could choose between last Friday and Tuesday for their start date. By the end of the week, students in all regions and pre-university stages will have returned, except secondary students in Andalusia and Castile and León, who start on September 15. More than 8.2 million students and 806,000 teachers are involved.

José Ángel Núñez of Spain’s national weather agency, Aemet, described the start of the school year as an “extraordinary warm episode for September.” Several records for average temperatures are expected to fall early in the month. Although temperatures should decline somewhat the following week, Núñez said they would remain very high, with further records possible.

extraordinary warm episode for September

· José Ángel NúñezThe Aemet meteorologist used the phrase to describe the unusually hot start to the school year.

The normal daily average temperature in Spain during July and August is 23 degrees Celsius. Forecast averages above 26 degrees would therefore be six degrees higher than normal, while the beginning of the week is expected to bring averages above 24 degrees and anomalies of four to five degrees. Maximum temperatures have approached 40 degrees in many parts of the country.

After the intense heat in May, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics warned that classrooms stop being suitable places for learning above 30 degrees, while temperatures above 32 degrees pose a health risk to schoolchildren. Measurements shared by family associations and teacher unions showed readings above 35 degrees in schools across regions including Catalonia, Aragon, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia and Extremadura. Planned education strikes include Catalonia on September 8 and Madrid on October 14, with further action expected in Andalusia.

the classroom stops being a suitable place for learning

· Spanish Association of PediatricsThe association’s warning about classroom temperatures above 30 degrees.
About this summary

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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