As students in Toronto prepare to return to their classrooms on Tuesday, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) unveils a strategy to mitigate the impact of sweltering temperatures on school communities. This plan will involve modifications to typical school activities.
Strenuous activities such as gym and sports will be curtailed, and the board encourages everyone within the schools to maintain hydration by consuming significant quantities of water. The plan also advocates keeping doors and windows open where feasible and using fans to increase air circulation.
Out of the 583 schools that comprise the TDSB, 177 are primarily air conditioned. Furthermore, another 243 are equipped with cooling centers in larger areas like gyms or libraries. The remaining institutions maintain temperature cooling areas where classes can take turns, which are facilitated by temporary air conditioning units.
Each school holds the autonomy to decide whether the recess will be held outdoors on Tuesday based on various considerations, including the presence of shaded areas within the schoolyard. Contingent upon the circumstances, outdoor activities scheduled for the opening day may be postponed.
The board has recommended that parents clad their children in light clothing and the option to send in a thermos filled with cold water.
Family physician at Unity Health Toronto, Dr. Samantha Green shared suggestions similar to those of the board. She emphasized on optimal hydration, ensuring adequate ventilation and refraining from excessive exertion during the intense heat.
This year’s school commencement coincides with an unusually soaring temperature in September in the Greater Toronto Area. A heat warning has been issued for the region, projecting temperatures to touch 30 to 40 degrees Celsius on Tuesday—an expected feel close to 40 with the humidex.
The intense heatwave is predicted to prevail until Wednesday. “Overnight lows will be in the high teens to low twenties bringing little relief from the heat. Humidex values and daytime highs will be very atypical of early September,” Environment Canada disclosed. However, relief is on the horizon as a cold front is expected to reduce the heat by Thursday with forecasted high temperatures of 24 degrees Celsius and a 60% probability of rainfall.
This extreme heat poses potential health hazards, specifically for the elderly, young children, and people with underlying health conditions. Dr. Green advocates for better policy management at the government level for enforceable maximum indoor temperatures.
She urges more comprehensive efforts in combating heat, encompassing environmental strategies such as tree planting initiatives and definitive policy modifications. “We also need policies to protect people,” Green elaborates, suggesting a maximum temperature bylaw much like one introduced in Hamilton to shelter renters from extreme heat.
