Hena Khan, a ninth-grade student in Dhaka, has faced difficulties focusing on her studies this week due to temperatures exceeding 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) in the capital of Bangladesh.
She expressed, "In this intense heat, there is no effective learning happening in schools. Teachers are unable to teach, and students are struggling to concentrate. Our lives are being put at risk." Khan is just one of over 40 million students who have been impacted by recent school closures resulting from heatwaves in various parts of Asia and North Africa.
As global temperatures continue to rise due to the burning of fossil fuels, heatwaves are becoming more frequent and severe. This has led government authorities and public health experts worldwide to grapple with the dilemma of whether to keep students in hot classrooms or advise them to stay home and stay cool.
Both options have their consequences. Currently, around 17% of the world's school-aged children are out of school, according to United Nations data. However, this figure is significantly higher in developing countries, where nearly a third of children in sub-Saharan Africa are out of school, compared to just 3% in North America. Furthermore, test scores among children in developing countries lag behind those in developed nations.
The impact of heatwaves could further exacerbate these educational disparities, widening the gap in learning outcomes between developing tropical countries and developed nations, as well as between affluent and disadvantaged districts within wealthy countries. However, sending children to schools without adequate cooling could also jeopardize their health.
For example, South Sudan closed its schools for approximately 2.2 million students in late March this year when temperatures soared to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). Subsequently, thousands of schools in the Philippines and India followed suit in late April, affecting over 10 million students.
On Wednesday, Cambodia mandated that all public schools reduce their daily hours by two to avoid the peak heat at midday. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has been indecisive about whether to open or close schools for its 33 million students, even as temperatures reach dangerous levels.
"Many Bangladeshi schools lack fans, adequate ventilation, and may have tin roofing, which does not provide proper insulation," explained Shumon Sengupta, Bangladesh country director for the nonprofit Save the Children.
EFFECTS OF HEAT ON LEARNING
Even if students attend classes during heatwaves, their educational outcomes are likely to suffer. High temperatures can impair the brain's cognitive functions, reducing students' ability to retain and process information.
A 2020 study found that U.S. high school students performed poorly on standardized tests if they had been exposed to higher temperatures in the year leading up to the exam. The research, published in the American Economic Journal, concluded that a 0.55°C (1°F) increase in temperature during the school year resulted in a 1% decrease in learning. However, much of this impact was mitigated in schools with air conditioning.
Between 40% and 60% of U.S. schools are estimated to have at least partial air conditioning, with those lacking it often located in poorer districts that already lag behind wealthier areas academically.
Similar findings were observed in other countries when researchers analyzed standardized test data. "When students in these places experience a year with higher temperatures, they appear to have learned less," noted Josh Goodman, an economist at Boston University and co-author of the study.
Another study suggests that excessive heat in tropical regions can also impact a child's education even before birth. A 2019 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that children in Southeast Asia who were exposed to higher-than-average temperatures in utero and early in life attained fewer years of schooling later on.
These findings are alarming, particularly because as the world warms, countries already experiencing high temperatures are expected to suffer more than temperate countries. "Climate change will widen the learning gaps between hot and cool countries," Goodman cautioned.
ADDRESSING THE ISSUE
Some developed countries are taking steps to mitigate the impact of heat on education. For example, in March, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced plans to construct 30 heat-resilient schools in Jordan by 2026. These schools will incorporate passive cooling systems and air conditioning to help maintain suitable learning environments.
While the number of days that U.S. schools close due to extreme heat has been increasing, few countries track such data. On average, U.S. schools now cancel classes for six to seven days each year due to heat, compared to about three to four days a decade ago, according to Paul Chinowsky, a civil engineer who led a 2021 study on schools and rising temperatures.
In Bangladesh, schools were closed for 6-7 days last year, according to Save the Children's Sengupta. However, this year, the closure period may extend to 3 to 4 weeks, as May is typically the hottest month in South Asia.