Soaring temperatures shut down schools in nearly half of Metro Manila yesterday, local officials said.
In Malabon, education department official Edgar Bonifacio said the suspensions affected more than 68,000 students across 42 schools.
“Our main concern is we’re near the end of the school year (in mid-April),” Bonifacio said. “This would mean a reduction of the number of school days available.”
In Valenzuela district, school official Annie Bernardo said its 69 schools have been instructed to shift to “alternative” learning models, including online classes.
Global average temperatures hit record highs in 2024 and even briefly surpassed the critical 1.5°C warming threshold.
In January, UN children’s agency UNICEF said extreme weather disrupted the schooling of about 242 million children in 85 countries last year, including the Philippines, with heat waves having the biggest impact.
Human activity, including the unrestricted burning of fossil fuels over decades, has warmed the planet and changed weather patterns.
That has meant wetter wet periods and dryer dry periods, intensifying heat and storms and making populations more vulnerable to disasters.
