A heat wave sending temperatures past 90 degrees Fahrenheit has swept western Europe this week, yet classrooms in Britain, France, and Belgium have largely stayed open, according to The New York Times. Because almost no school buildings in those countries have air conditioning, education authorities have been caught between the risk of lost instruction time and the documented harm that extreme heat can cause to children's health and concentration.
Earlier this week, the British Department for Education issued guidance against closing schools due to heat, arguing in a statement that "hot weather can usually be managed safely," according to The Times. Despite that guidance, decisions have been left to individual school leaders, and some have opted to shut their buildings for several days. Pete Lynch, principal of Sheldon School in Chippenham, England, described a building where windows barely open and only 50 fans are available for 60 classrooms, conditions he told The Times gave him no real choice but to close.
French education minister Édouard Geffray told lawmakers that roughly 10,000 of France's 60,000 schools had either shut down or modified their timetables in response to the heat, according to The Times. The city of Paris announced plans to supply 1,200 fans to 620 preschools and elementary schools, but as of Monday only 150 had reached their destinations.
A heat alert valid through Friday was put in place across much of Belgium, with forecasters expecting temperatures to climb past 35 degrees Celsius, according to The Times. Some schools responded by dropping afternoon sessions for the remainder of the week, and a primary school in the municipality of Hoegaarden found a novel solution by shifting classes into the air-conditioned meeting rooms of nearby businesses.
Across all three countries, teachers have been adjusting daily routines in common ways: scheduling extra water breaks, allowing students to wear lighter clothing in place of standard uniforms, and scrapping or scaling back physical education. According to The Times, studies have shown that elevated temperatures can depress academic performance and test results, a body of evidence that has sharpened the disagreement over whether schools should remain open during heat emergencies.
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Update, June 26, 2026: The heat wave has been linked to at least 40 deaths in France, at least 40 in Germany, and five in Italy. Temperatures in London have neared 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the opening session of London Climate Action Week was called off due to the heat. (per The New York Times)