Some of San Diego’s youngest students sweltered in overheated classrooms during this week’s heatwave. A spokesperson for the San Diego Unified School District said malfunctioning air conditioners are to blame.
Children are at a higher risk for heat-related illness than adults said Dr. Vi Nguyen, a pediatrician with Kaiser Permanente.
“Their bodies are littler. Just the physiology of a child is that they breathe more rapidly. They're more active. Usually they're metabolically more active, ” she said.
Prolonged exposure to high temperatures can lead to serious health complications, she said, including heat stroke, heat exhaustion and even asthma attacks.
“We know there's a lot of pollution, indoor pollution in the schools and heat tends to exacerbate pollution anyway. So actually, in the schools the particulate matter is probably a little higher,” Nguyen said.
Student athletes are particularly at risk.
“What we’re seeing is a lot of dizziness, a lot of kids thinking they have heart issues. But really, they're just dehydrated. It's really hot. They're still practicing,” she said.
This lack of cooling disrupts learning, too. A study of 10 million students' PSAT scores found that in schools without air conditioning, each 1 degree fahrenheit increase in temperature reduced learning by 1%. This effect was three times greater for Black and Hispanic students compared to white students.
“Especially in lower income areas with more minority children, the school performance goes down as it gets hotter. So it's school performance in terms of like test scores,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen is co-founder of San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air. She’s advocating to make schools cooler by replacing traditional air conditioners with solar panel-powered units.
She said families should make sure kids stay hydrated and wear light clothing, a hat and sunscreen.
A San Diego Unified spokesperson said the district is prioritizing repairs based on student needs, location, and air access. And schools may restrict outdoor activities and physical education to manage heat.
