This paper investigates the experiences and impacts of extreme heat on the Philippine education system during the “summer” seasons of 2023 and 2024, drawing on publicly available data and news reports. It critically examines government responses to the unprecedented challenges posed by emerging extreme heat conditions as part of the new climate normal. Various policy measures were implemented by government agencies to mitigate the adverse effects on students and teachers, including face-to-face class suspensions, shifts to alternative instructional methods, adjusted class schedules, and discussions on returning to the traditional school calendar. However, significant gaps and challenges persist in these responses, underscoring the need for time-consistent policies focused on creating conducive learning environments. The establishment of heat response plans for educational institutions and the development of improved location-specific heat indices are essential to adapt to this new climate reality and minimize the disruption of educational activities.
AdgerWN (2006) Vulnerability. Global Environmental Change16(3): 268–281.
3.
AgostinelliFDoepkeMSorrentiG, et al. (2022) When the great equalizer shuts down: schools, peers, and parents in pandemic times. Journal of Public Economics206: 104574.
4.
Alban ContoCAkseerSDreesenT, et al. (2021) Potential effects of COVID-19 school closures on foundational skills and Country responses for mitigating learning loss. International Journal of Educational Development87: 102434.
BerkesFFolkeC (1998) Linking Social and Ecological Systems: Management Practices and Social Mechanisms for Building Resilience. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
De GuzmanCMFajardoAHubagFM, et al. (2017) Ergonomic assessment of environmental conditions in public elementary school classrooms in Quezon city, Philippines. In: SoaresMFalcãoCAhramT (eds) Advances in Ergonomics Modeling, Usability & Special Populations. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing. Switzerland: Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-41685-4_36.
EbiKLCaponABerryP, et al. (2021) Hot weather and heat extremes: health risks. The Lancet398(10301): 698–708.
37.
EngzellPFreyAVerhagenMD (2021) Learning loss due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences118(17): e2022376118.
FullanM (2007) The New Meaning of Educational Change. New York: Teachers College Press.
44.
GarcíaEWeissE (2017) Education Inequalities at the School Starting Gate: Gaps, Trends, and Strategies to Address Them. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.
GolechhaMMavalankarDBhanSC (2021) India: heat wave and action plan implementation in Indian cities. In: RenCMcGregorG (eds) Urban Climate Science for Planning Healthy Cities. Biometeorology. Cham: Springer.
HaelermansCJacobsMVan der VeldenR, et al. (2022) Inequality in the effects of primary school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from The Netherlands. AEA Papers and Proceedings112: 303–307.
50.
HammersteinSKönigCDreisörnerT, et al. (2021) Effects of COVID-19-related school closures on student achievement-A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychology12: 746289.
IPCC (2014) Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of working group II to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental Panel on climate change. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg2/ (accessed 2 September 2024).
54.
IPCC (2023) Summary for policymakers. In: LeeHRomeriJ (eds) Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Switzerland: IPCC. DOI: 10.59327/ipcc/ar6-9789291691647.001.
55.
JandricPHayesDTrueloveI, et al. (2022) Teaching in the age of COVID-19. Postdigital Science and Education2(3): 1069–1230.
56.
JandrićPJaldemarkJHurleyZ, et al. (2020) Philosophy of education in a new key: who remembers Greta Thunberg? Education and environment after the coronavirus. Educational Philosophy and Theory53(14): 1421–1441.
57.
JiangLMoJKosar AltinyelkenH (2024) Covid-19, school closures and educational inequities: exploring lived experiences. Educational Research66(1): 51–67.
58.
KaffenbergerM (2021) Modelling the long-run learning impact of the COVID-19 learning shock: actions to (more than) mitigate loss. International Journal of Educational Development81: 102326.
59.
KennedyAIStrietholtR (2023) School closure policies and student reading achievement: evidence across countries. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability35: 475–501.
60.
LalaBHagishimaA (2023) Impact of escalating heat waves on students’ well-being and overall health: a survey of primary school teachers. Climate11: 126.
61.
LascoGYuVGDavidCC, et al. (2023) Teachers as health workers in the Philippines. Acta Medica Philippina. DOI: 10.47895/amp.vi0.8146.
62.
LiuJVargheseBMHansenA, et al. (2021) Is there an association between hot weather and poor mental health outcomes? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Environment International153: 106533.
MakinoMShonchoyASWahhajZ (2023) Early effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on children in north-western Bangladesh. Oxford Development Studies52(1): 34–53.
68.
MaldonadoJEDe WitteK (2022) The effect of school closures on standardised student test outcomes. British Educational Research Journal48(1): 49–94.
MazrekajDDe WitteK (2024) The impact of school closures on learning and mental health of children: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. Perspectives on Psychological Science19(4): 686–693.
72.
MenianoS (2024) E. Visayas’ Biggest High School Modifies Class Sked Amid Extreme Heat. Philippine News Agency, Vol. 11. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1222444.
73.
National Center for Environmental Health (2020) Heat Response Plans: Summary of Evidence and Strategies for Collaboration and Implementation. Available at: https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/93705.accessed 8 May 2024
74.
NavarroAM (2022) School infrastructure in the Philippines: Where are we now and where should we be heading?Philippines: PIDS.
NoelkeCMcGovernMCorsiDJ, et al. (2016) Increasing ambient temperature reduces emotional well-being. Environmental Research151: 124–129.
79.
Nori-SarmaASunSSunY, et al. (2022) Association between ambient heat and risk of emergency department visits for mental health among US adults, 2010 to 2019. JAMA Psychiatry79(4): 341–349.
ObradovichNMiglioriniRPaulusMP, et al. (2018) Empirical evidence of mental health risks posed by climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences115(43): 10953–10958.
OniS (2013) Challenges and Prospects in African Education Systems. Bloomington, IN: Trafford Publishing.
86.
OrchardJGaydonPWilliamsK, et al. (2021) Philosophy of education in a new key: a ‘COVID collective’ of the philosophy of education society of great Britain (PESGB). Educational Philosophy and Theory53(12): 1215–1228.
ParkJ (2017) Heat Stress and Human Capital Production. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. PhD Thesis.
89.
Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (2024) Official Statement on Creating Extreme Heat Protocol. Available at: https://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/press-release/155 (accessed 22 May 2024).
RamosM (2024) First COVID, Now Heat: Online Schooling Returns to the Philippines. London, UK: Thomson Reuters Foundation.
94.
ReyesCM (ed) (2022) The Philippines’ Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Learning from Experience and Emerging Stronger to Future Shocks. Philippines: (PIDS) Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
SherwoodSCHuberM (2010) An adaptability limit to climate change due to heat stress. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences107(21): 9552–9555.
103.
SherwoodSCRamsayEE (2023) Closer limits to human tolerance of global heat. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences120(43): e2316003120.
104.
ShortridgeAWalker VIWWhiteDD, et al. (2022) HeatReady schools: a novel approach to enhance adaptive capacity to heat through school community experiences, risks, and perceptions. Climate Risk Management36: 100437.
105.
SilanMA (2023) Are the Kids Alright? the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing of Filipino Children in Selected Cities in Metro Manila. Charlottesville, VA: Center for Open Science. DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/v2ygm.
106.
SmitBWandelJ (2006) Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability. Global Environmental Change16(3): 282–292.
107.
SmithAJDevineDSamonovaE, et al. (2024) The COVID-19 pandemic and children’s engagement with learning in rural Sierra Leone. Cambridge Journal of Education54(2): 221–237.
TesarM (2020) Towards a post-COVID-19 ‘new normality?’: physical and social distancing, the move to online and higher education. Policy Futures in Education18(4): 556–559.
110.
ThompsonVMitchellDHegerlGC, et al. (2023) The most at-risk regions in the world for high-impact heatwaves. Nature Communications14: 2152. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37554-1.
UNESCO (2023) Global Education Monitoring Report2023: Southeast Asia: Technology in Education – A Tool on Whose Terms. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000387214 (accessed 31 August 2024).
114.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2022) Evidence on the gendered impacts of extended school closures. A systematic review, Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380935 (accessed 30 August 2024).
115.
Vargas ZeppetelloLRRafteryAEBattistiDS (2022) Probabilistic projections of increased heat stress driven by climate change. Communications Earth & Environment3: 183.
116.
VecellioDJWolfSTCottleRM, et al. (2022) Evaluating the 35°C wet-bulb temperature adaptability threshold for young, healthy subjects (PSU HEAT Project). Journal of Applied Physiology132(2): 340–345.
World Meteorological Organization (2024) State of the Climate in Asia 2023. Available at: https://library.wmo.int/idurl/4/68890 (accessed 24 May 2024).
123.
ZivinJGShraderJ (2016) Temperature extremes, health, and human capital. The Future of Children26(1): 31–50.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
