High Temperatures Close Schools in Several U.S. Cities
High heat shut down schools in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Pittsburgh on Thursday, forcing students and teachers to stay at home in the face of rising temperatures and inadequate air conditioning. In Detroit, the conditions led administrators to close that city’s schools three hours earlier than usual on Thursday, and similar plans were in place for Friday for the city’s 53,000 students.
In Pittsburgh, 40 schools in a district with more than 18,000 students shifted to remote learning, citing health concerns about sweltering classrooms, the district announced. In Grand Rapids, in western Michigan, home to 17,000 students, administrators canceled school for the remainder of the week as temperatures climbed to the 90s on Thursday.
The temperatures in some school buildings were “simply too warm,” the superintendent of schools, Leadriane Roby, said in a statement. “That not only makes the learning environment a challenge, but it also raises a safety concern.”
Poorly cooled or heated school buildings in the United States is far from a new concern, but it is an intensifying worry as more school districts are grappling with aging infrastructure and the effects of climate change. Older buildings often lack central air-conditioning, and even if window air-conditioners are present, they can be ineffective in classrooms packed with dozens of children.
Source: The New York Times
