Ireland is set to get up to 30 degrees this week in places, so does that mean that the summer holidays could come early for some?
It’s the week before the summer break and Europe is experiencing a heatwave. While Ireland won’t get temperatures as high as places like the UK, Spain or France, we are still set to get weather that we aren’t really used to.
So will schools close because of the heat? Here is what you need to know.
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How hot does it have to be for schools in Ireland to close?
While Ireland does have guidelines on how cold it needs to get for schools to close, heat is a little more of a grey area. However, there are no legal guidelines for how hot it needs to get for schools to close, probably because it just doesn’t happen.
But the weather is changing, higher temperatures are something we are going to see a lot more of in the future, and schools may indeed have to close if temperatures get too high.
According to Citizens’ Information, if Met Éireann issues a Red Weather Warning, a warning for extreme weather which can include heat, then schools and childcare settings may be forced to close. ‘In the event of a red weather warning, the National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) can issue a closure notice to educational settings in affected areas,’ the website says.
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But schools can also close at their own discretion in cases of unusual weather if they deem it is unsafe for students.
The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) tells teachers that they should not work if temperatures reach 26 degrees in the shade. They are instructed to bring the matter up with a TUI representative who should take the issue to the principal, and if it is not resolved then ‘members are instructed not to work in rooms’ ‘where the maximum temperature is exceeded.
