It is heartening to know that government and education officials are mulling various ways to respond to the expected extreme heat in the coming months due to the very strong El Niño.
One proposal emerging from the Cebu City Council is for schools in the city to hold face-to-face classes from 5:30 A.M. to 10 A.M. four days a week while making Fridays a day for modular distance learning. This was the proposal in a resolution pushed by Councilor David Tumulak, which is expected to be tackled in today’s session. It is described as a temporary adjustment subject to existing Department of Education policies and guidelines.
DepEd Memorandum No. 064, series of 2026, outlines the 4H school-response framework and classroom monitoring. Under the four-level system, regular classes will continue when the heat index is below 27°C, but with scheduled hydration breaks. This is called Hayo. From 27°C to 32°C, or Hinay, schools may shorten in-person classes or adopt hybrid and flexible home-based learning.
From 33°C to 41°C, or Hinga, in-person classes will be suspended, with students given only lighter home-based tasks and health check-ins. Once the heat index reaches 42°C or higher, the Hinto level takes effect, suspending all academic activities, including those conducted at home.
Weather bureau PAGASA has warned that Cebu may experience extreme heat in the coming months as El Niño intensifies the effects of the hot and dry season, which typically runs from March to May. According to PAGASA Visayas chief Al Quiblat, the heat index could reach as high as 52°C, surpassing the province’s previous record of 51°C.
Every year since schools adjusted their calendar to include the traditional summer months of April and May, school days have been cut short or interrupted due to episodes of extreme heat. The lesson from this is that extreme heat should no longer be treated as an occasional interruption, but as a recurring condition for which we must have long-term plans.
Studies have already shown that hotter classrooms reduce learning, with school air-conditioning appearing to solve the problem. But not all schools can afford air-conditioning, especially if they have not shifted to renewable energy like solar, in which case air-conditioning would drive up electricity costs. Researchers have recommended climate-resilient classrooms, fan cooling, ventilation, and insulation, particularly in public schools.
I’m not sure if newer classrooms or those planned to be built are designed to allow natural ventilation. When the heat index is extremely high, using electric fans alone does not make classrooms safe. Living in a tropical country, we used to design our homes and buildings with natural ventilation, including cross-ventilation, in mind.
One simple principle of natural ventilation is that hot air rises. If we allow warmer indoor air to escape through openings above, cooler outside air can enter through openings below to replace it. Of course, this works best when the outside air is cooler than the air inside, which is often the case during the early morning hours before 10:00 A.M.
Yet today, we rarely see such designs in our homes and buildings and have copied Western designs, perhaps due to air-conditioning, without much thought about our climate conditions.
So while the immediate solutions include adjusting school and work hours and establishing clear protocols for monitoring the heat index and changing operations if needed, we need longer-lasting solutions, including redesigning buildings for better ventilation and proper building orientation, and providing cooling spaces such as comfortable outdoor areas shaded by trees.
As we face a climate-challenged future, we need to incorporate heat management into our school calendars and schedules, occupational safety programs, and building standards.