By Amulyaa Dwivedi, CELA Communications Intern
When temperatures soar, the impacts of extreme heat don’t just stay outdoors. In classrooms and daycare centres across Canada, children, along with the educators who care for them, are trying to teach and learn without basic protections in place. Experts warn that children’s unique vulnerability to heat is often overlooked.
Jacqueline Wilson, Counsel at the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) shared “There’s a growing awareness about how serious the impacts of heat are, in particular on children. It impacts them in terms of physical health, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke, but also affects their mental health and ability to learn. It undermines the entire learning environment.”
Unlike adults, children have a higher metabolic rate and lower cardiac output, and that changes how they’re able to withstand heat exposure. They depend on caregivers to notice when they’re overheating. In overcrowded, poorly ventilated buildings, that isn’t always easy. Teachers and daycare workers are also exposed, often for full working days in buildings not equipped for today’s climate.
“Children’s bodies don’t experience and can’t cope with heat in the same way as adults,” explains Wilson. “Children also have little agency over their schedule and are dependent on adults to identify the need to remove them from extreme heat situations.”
Yet, Canada has no maximum indoor temperature standard for schools or child care centres. Outdoor temperatures are sometimes used to trigger heat mitigation responses, but they fail to capture what’s happening inside, especially in older buildings where temperatures can spike far higher.
That’s why CELA is calling for a maximum indoor temperature of 26°C in schools and child care settings. But Wilson cautions that this indoor temperature standard is based mostly on research focused on older adults and that the threshold might need to be lower for children.
“It’s an important first step to set a maximum indoor temperature of 26°C in all child care and school settings,” she says. “But we also recommend studying whether that limit is protective enough for young children and adjusting it if it’s not.”
This call for heat-safe learning environments isn’t just about classroom comfort. Prolonged exposure to high indoor temperatures has been linked to cognitive decline, sleep disruption, memory loss, and lower test scores. There’s also an overlap with air quality concerns, children with asthma or other respiratory conditions are especially vulnerable to the combination of heat and pollution.
CELA is also recommending infrastructure upgrades, including mechanical cooling systems like heat pumps or air conditioning, indoor temperature monitors, shaded outdoor areas, and targeted funding for schools and child care facilities in high-risk communities. On First Nations lands, CELA recommends that governments co-develop climate resiliency plans with Indigenous leaders to address chronic underfunding and ensure culturally appropriate solutions.
Heat waves and extreme heat are increasing every year due to climate change, and their impact is disproportionately felt by the most vulnerable – including children. The laws meant to protect our health and safety were built for a different climate – and they are no longer enough.
“All levels of government must update their laws and policies to reflect our warming world,” Wilson says.
Extreme heat is not a future problem, it’s already here. Climate adaptation must put people first and protect everyone.
To learn more about CELA’s recommendations for protecting children from extreme heat in schools and child-care settings, read our reports here.
Blog: Understanding the Impact of Extreme Heat on Schools and Child Care
By Amulyaa Dwivedi, CELA Communications Intern
When temperatures soar, the impacts of extreme heat don’t just stay outdoors. In classrooms and daycare centres across Canada, children, along with the educators who care for them, are trying to teach and learn without basic protections in place. Experts warn that children’s unique vulnerability to heat is often overlooked.
Jacqueline Wilson, Counsel at the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) shared “There’s a growing awareness about how serious the impacts of heat are, in particular on children. It impacts them in terms of physical health, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke, but also affects their mental health and ability to learn. It undermines the entire learning environment.”
Unlike adults, children have a higher metabolic rate and lower cardiac output, and that changes how they’re able to withstand heat exposure. They depend on caregivers to notice when they’re overheating. In overcrowded, poorly ventilated buildings, that isn’t always easy. Teachers and daycare workers are also exposed, often for full working days in buildings not equipped for today’s climate.
“Children’s bodies don’t experience and can’t cope with heat in the same way as adults,” explains Wilson. “Children also have little agency over their schedule and are dependent on adults to identify the need to remove them from extreme heat situations.”
Yet, Canada has no maximum indoor temperature standard for schools or child care centres. Outdoor temperatures are sometimes used to trigger heat mitigation responses, but they fail to capture what’s happening inside, especially in older buildings where temperatures can spike far higher.
That’s why CELA is calling for a maximum indoor temperature of 26°C in schools and child care settings. But Wilson cautions that this indoor temperature standard is based mostly on research focused on older adults and that the threshold might need to be lower for children.
“It’s an important first step to set a maximum indoor temperature of 26°C in all child care and school settings,” she says. “But we also recommend studying whether that limit is protective enough for young children and adjusting it if it’s not.”
This call for heat-safe learning environments isn’t just about classroom comfort. Prolonged exposure to high indoor temperatures has been linked to cognitive decline, sleep disruption, memory loss, and lower test scores. There’s also an overlap with air quality concerns, children with asthma or other respiratory conditions are especially vulnerable to the combination of heat and pollution.
CELA is also recommending infrastructure upgrades, including mechanical cooling systems like heat pumps or air conditioning, indoor temperature monitors, shaded outdoor areas, and targeted funding for schools and child care facilities in high-risk communities. On First Nations lands, CELA recommends that governments co-develop climate resiliency plans with Indigenous leaders to address chronic underfunding and ensure culturally appropriate solutions.
Heat waves and extreme heat are increasing every year due to climate change, and their impact is disproportionately felt by the most vulnerable – including children. The laws meant to protect our health and safety were built for a different climate – and they are no longer enough.
“All levels of government must update their laws and policies to reflect our warming world,” Wilson says.
Extreme heat is not a future problem, it’s already here. Climate adaptation must put people first and protect everyone.
To learn more about CELA’s recommendations for protecting children from extreme heat in schools and child-care settings, read our reports here.
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