U.K. Schools Struggle in Heat Wave as Advisers Urge Cooling Upgrades
More than 1,000 schools closed or sent pupils home as advisers said passive cooling should come first and low-carbon air conditioning should follow.
- More than 1,000 schools across Britain closed or sent children home early in late June when record temperatures swept Europe, forcing teacher Mark Morris in Wales to shut his school's gates during the extreme weather.
- The British government's climate advisers stated these buildings were "built for a climate that no longer exists today," designed to retain warmth in cold winters rather than manage prolonged heat. Experts say this infrastructure gap has exposed Britain's unpreparedness for the "new normal" of intense heat waves.
- Wayne Bates, a health and safety spokesperson with the teachers' union NASUWT, reported that "we've had members passing out in classrooms while trying to teach." Four out of five schools contain asbestos, complicating retrofits, while 30 bodies per classroom create additional health hazards.
- Woods, vice president of the National Union of Headteachers, noted that fitting air conditioning costs close to £20,000 per school. Along with other unions, Bates' group has called for the government to introduce a maximum workplace temperature standard.
- The Climate Change Committee warns that without adaptation, indoor temperatures in thousands of English schools could hit 35 Celsius 70% more often by present standards. It advises installing low-carbon cooling systems within the next 25 years to prevent learning loss.
20 Articles
20 Articles
No AC, Poor Ventilation: Over 1,000 UK Schools Shut as Outdated Buildings Turn Into 'Ovens' During Heatwave
More than 1,000 UK schools have been forced to shut this week as Britain's punishing heatwave turns Victorian-era classrooms into unbearable 'ovens', with pupils and teachers reportedly passing out at their desks. The mass closures come as ageing school buildings — many without air conditioning, working windows or basic ventilation — buckle under record-smashing temperatures sweeping across Europe. The scale of the crisis has already taken a phy…
WellandTribune.ca
With poor ventilation and children packed in, UK’s outdated schoolhouses swelter in the heat
LONDON (AP) — Like hundreds of other schools across the U.K., the Welsh school where Mark Morris teaches was forced to close its gates during Europe’s latest record-smashing heat wave.
Like hundreds of other schools in the UK, the Welsh school where Mark Morris teaches was forced to close its doors during the latest record heat wave in Europe.
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