Pupils in England could lose more than 11 days of learning a year by 2100 if no measures are taken to combat global warming, the Department for Education has warned.
A has looked at the impact of rising temperatures on schools and pupil learning.
Persistent increases in temperature affect the ability to learn, even when they remain below “extreme heat level”, the DfE said today in a summary of the analysis.
Learning already affected by climate change
Global temperatures are already 1.2C above those seen between 1850 and 1990.
This is estimated to be causing some pupils to lose 6.7 days of learning a year “due to more subtle increases in temperature resulting in a decreased ability to learn over the course of a typical academic year”.
If temperatures increase to 2C above the baseline by 2050, that would result in an estimated 8.2 days of lost learning a year, the analysis says.
And if temperatures increase by 4C above the baseline by 2100, there would be on average of 7.8 extreme heat days per year, where temperatures could reach or exceed 35C in some schools, according to the findings. This would result in an estimated 11.4 days of lost learning
“In the longer term, without the implementation of any adaptation measures, students could potentially lose up to 12 days of learning per year on average, as result of generally warmer temperatures and not just from extreme heat,” the DfE said.
Risk of schools flooding
The update also warned that nearly 60 per cent of secondary school sites are at high risk of flooding from surface water, as well as nearly two in five secondary school buildings.
Primary schools are slightly less likely to be flooded - a third are on sites that are at high risk of flooding, while 20 per cent are at high risk of seeing buildings flood.
The risk from river and sea flooding is much lower, with only 6 per cent of secondary school sites at high risk of this, analysis of information from the Environment Agency finds.
The DfE has previously committed to Responding to a Freedom of Information request from Tes in April, the DfE said it had invested in reducing flooding in 573 schools by the end of the 2023-24 financial year.
It added that all new schools delivered through the School Rebuilding Programme are designed to be climate resilient.
However, funding for schools to reduce their emissions through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme has been cut. Delivery body Salix Finance said last week that
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