A heat wave with temperatures that could reach 40 degrees Celsius has forced the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil, to postpone the start of the school year, scheduled for today.
"In compliance with the decision of the Court of Justice of Rio Grande do Sul, there will be no classes in the 2,320 schools in the [public] network this Monday", announced, in a note, the State Communications Secretariat, hit by terrible floods in 2024.
Around 700,000 students in this region, where the climate is generally colder than in the rest of Brazil, had their return to school postponed until after the summer holidays in the south of the country.
The court made the decision following a request from the local teachers' union, which requested that the start of the school year be postponed to February 17.
According to the union, schools are not equipped with "adequate ventilation systems or sufficient drinking fountains" to withstand the temperatures expected for this week.
The postponement "is a fundamental victory for the safety and well-being of the entire school community," the union said, warning of a "worrying scenario" without the necessary infrastructure.
In some areas of the state, temperatures will reach 40 degrees in the coming days, according to the Brazilian meteorological institute Inmet.
The government of Rio Grande do Sul appealed the court's decision and hopes to resume classes this week.
"We are building a resilient school model that adapts to climate change," said the Education Department.
"We were not informed" about the postponement of the start of the school year, Paulo de Lima Santos, a 50-year-old father, told local newspaper Gaúcho.
"The school could have a Whatsapp [social network] group to inform about this type of thing," he suggested.
According to Inmet, temperatures should start to fall from Thursday.
In recent years, Brazil has been particularly affected by extreme weather events, made more numerous and intense, according to experts, by climate change.
In April and May, floods killed more than 180 people in Rio Grande do Sul, also causing enormous material losses.
