Schools in Andalucía able to activate high temperature protocols earlier than usual

High temperature protocols at Andalusian schools will be activated on 15 May instead of 1 June as extreme heat continues to blast the region.

The Junta de Andalucía is finalising updates to its high temperature protocols, which it set out in 2017, following a week of warm weather. The unseasonal wave of heat broke records for the month of April in the provinces of Cordoba and Seville.

From next week all schools will start to receive instructions about the protocols which will be activated on 15 May and last until 30 September.

A series of training courses will also be set up so school staff were familiar with any changes to the protocols.

"Among the decisions that schools will be able to take within the framework of protocols for high temperatures will be flexibility of the timetable depending on the hours of heat,” regional minister for Education Patricia del Pozo said.

“When we are in an amber alert situation for high temperatures, we could activate the school dismissal, with the prior consent of the parents.”

It comes after the CDIF trade union called on the Ministry of Education to implement the plan it announced in August 2022 to deal with the climate emergency, and to fulfill its budget commitment to adapt schools to the changing weather.

The union also demanded that the respective regional governments apply measures in classrooms to combat heat, such as changing timetables to correspond with milder temperatures in the Community of Madrid, Andalucía, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Aragon or La Rioja.

They also called for improvements to air conditioning facilities and the installation of more shaded areas.