We know this is the norm for summer now and only going to get worse. We can’t rebuilt all our buildings for this new climate, but we can retrofit active cooling. We need a nation program of ACs for hospitals and schools.
‘Children were calling for their mummies’: UK pupils struggle in 40C-plus classrooms
Submitted 19 hours ago by Biscuitt@feddit.uk to unitedkingdom@feddit.uk
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/jul/11/uk-pupils-struggle-extreme-heat-schools-classrooms
Comments
jabjoe@feddit.uk 17 hours ago
FishFace@piefed.social 15 hours ago
We can start by retrofitting passive cooling: external window shades are cheap and would make a big difference due to how big classroom windows tend to be.
danielquinn@lemmy.ca 13 hours ago
Also way cheaper.
jabjoe@feddit.uk 12 hours ago
Completely again, but I don’t see that as either or. We need both. This is the coolest summer we might have in our life times. I’m genuinely concerned we are getting ready fast enough of what is coming. I mean it could swing the other way if the gold stream stops, or we need to deal with crazy cold, and maybe crazy hot.
arrow74@lemmy.zip 8 hours ago
It doesn’t help much in a school setting.
Some of my Uni buildings have shutters, but the issue is that during the night all the windows are shut for security. So while the shutters prevent the room from getting as hot during the day, policy keeps it from being able to cool off. So the rooms are just hot
Essentially you would need a person to actively manage the passive cooling. Someone to ensure windows are open through the night. Teachers should be able to handle shutting the windows and shutter by a certain time of day, but in a hospital or uni you’ll need someone to make sure that happens building wide.
danielquinn@lemmy.ca 13 hours ago
Not unless those AC units are combined with rooftop solar. Most schools have massive amounts of space on the roof, so solar should be cheap and potentially even profitable to install.
jabjoe@feddit.uk 11 hours ago
Agreed. Do all the things!
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 16 hours ago
“bUt iF tHe KiDs mIsS oNe DaY oF cLaSs, ThEy’Ll bE uNeMpLoYeD”
KiwiTB@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
No point wasting money on Aircon when they could install heat pumps instead.
jabjoe@feddit.uk 17 hours ago
Aircon is an air to air heatpump. Normally they can run in either direction.
domusaltera@piefed.social 18 hours ago
No doubt some schools minister will come out and say that “school is so important and missing even one day can damage a child’s future irreparably”. They did it with Covid and they’ll do it again and it has nothing to do with the children. They just don’t want parents to have to miss work because they’re looking after their kids. They depend on the worker bees never stopping for any reason.
BrightCandle@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
The children have been marinating in repeated Covid infections now for 5 years after restrictions were lifted and one of the consequences of Long Covid is heat intolerance. Now we are subjecting them to constant excessive and potentially lethal heat in classrooms that often don’t even have opening windows let alone Air Conditioning. They really don’t care if the children survive at all, just that the parents are forced to work so the billionaires can get a bit richer and own ever more of everything.
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 16 hours ago
Always pushing the “school is the best place for your child” BS
Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 hours ago
Which is garbage reasoning because this is true in the states also, and yet, the last two weeks of school where I am we were in a heat wave, and four of those days they called for early dissmisal/half day due to heat, and sent the kids home at noon. Many schools dont have cooling outside of the offices (another issue), but you cannot learn (nor teach) when its too hot.