Jun 44 min read

Extreme Heat: Stealthy Threat to People, Planet, and Education

Extreme Heat is the deadliest of Climate Events - a silent, lethal assassin responsible for the most Climate deaths every year. Unlike its hurricane, flood, and fire cousins, it operates mostly under the radar, escaping image centric media coverage.

Extreme Heat impacts physical and mental health, cognitive function, physical infrastructure, power grids, emergency response systems, social cohesion.

And as with so many things, it hits the most vulnerable the hardest:

A 2021 LA Times investigation found that California has chronically undercounted the death toll from extreme heat, which disproportionately harms poor people, elderly people and others who are vulnerable.

Do you think about it? Talk about it? Prepare for it?

Reflection questions for the Adult Education community:

Assessment

Extreme heat impacts cognitive function.

There is increasing focus on assessment in Adult Ed - with results tied to funding.

Is your program, school, district, state agency considering the impact of extreme heat on assessment? Have you thought about adjusting the timing of tests?

2. Learners

Having AC on campus is a plus during class and assessment but is not the only remedy needed. Many learners will be deeply impacted by extreme heat - at home and at work. Attendance, health, and cognitive function may decline.

3. Staff

Staff are also impacted in terms of attendance, health, and performance.

4. Campus Costs and Function

Does your campus have AC?

Will it need AC in future?

How is the power grid in your area?

5. Remote Learning

Can your school, campus, or program pivot to remote learning as needed?

Does your community have what it needs in terms of training and technology?

6. Conflict and Violence

Extreme heat worsens mood, sharpens conflicts, and increases violence.

This can play out in a variety of ways for schools - none of them good.

7. Words and Wisdom

Does your professional development and curriculum include relevant

Health, Climate Literacy, Emergency Preparedness information?

Have you equipped your community - staff & students - with the information they need to discuss, plan for, and respond to the challenges of Extreme Heat?

8. Heat is an Equity Issue

Does your discussion and commitment to equity extend past accurate history, hiring policies, and workforce development pathways to address the greatest magnifier of inequity - aka Climate Change? If not, why not? What does it mean if you celebrate Heritage Months and fly representational flags but don’t talk about how the majority of communities served by Adult Education are hardest hit by Climate Change?

We don’t need to know about every aspect of a problem or hold all the solutions to talk a problem. In fact, talking about it is how we learn more and discover solutions.

Luckily for us, many people have been talking about these problems for a while and offer ideas, knowledge, wisdom, and resources to help us to respond to the very real danger of Extreme Heat as it impacts our people, programs, and planet.