The heat wave in the south of Brazil requests five cities to suspend the hours

Sao Paulo (AP) – five cities in the south Brazil The classes suspended on Thursday due to a heat wave, the authorities said, because the temperatures in some places increased to 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit).

Rio Grande, one of the five cities – all in the southern state of Rio Grande Do Sul – said that his schools are not equipped to cope with extreme heat. The courses were expected to resume Monday.

The National Meteorological Institute has issued a severe weather warning for Rio Grande Do Sul and four other Brazilian states. The affected areas suffered temperatures up to 5 degrees Celsius (9 F) above the monthly average.

Extreme weather events affected at least 1.17 million children in Brazil last year, mainly involving floods and droughts, according to a UNESCO report from January. Most were in Rio Grande Do Sul, where over 740,000 classes missed during floods that devastated the state in May 2024.

Daniel Cara, a researcher in the education policy at the University of Sao Paulo, said that schools were historical to close in the dry season due to the dangers of fire or lack of water. Now, closing the school due to extreme heat have become more common, he said.

“This will be the new normal,” he said in a telephone interview. “Climatic problems have always made pressure on the school calendar. Now, the new factor is that heat waves and lack of air conditioning will make the class cancellations a regular event. “

The Brazilians endured heat waves with scorching temperatures this summer. In February, Rio de Janeiro and recorded the hottest day in at least a decade, with temperatures reaching 44 degrees Celsius (111 F).