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By Shania James, Re-defining Work Volunteer
A heat outlook report prepared by the Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum for October 2024 to March 2025 outlines the expectation of near-record heat with a forecast of approximately 15 heatwave days in Tobago, Barbados, coastal Guineas, and Windward Islands. It highlights the possibility of above-normal temperatures ranging from 45-50 °C for January, February, and March 2025. With anticipated increases in heat conditions, this presents concerning impacts for communities, including children. Children in the Caribbean experience climate-related hazards such as heat illnesses, respiratory illnesses, water-related illnesses, and food impacts as a result of the dangerous heat levels increasing in the region and inadequate mediation strategies, such as fans and air conditioning units in classrooms and other various learning spaces.
Children’s vulnerability to climate risks is due to several factors, such as the ongoing physical and emotional development of their bodies and exposure to the outdoors as shared by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. However, the impact of climate on the Caribbean should not be overlooked. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the United Nations considers the Caribbean to be ‘ground zero’ in the global climate emergency. This is particularly concerning because of our disclosed positioning, small size, and relative isolation. For children and adolescents, they would be impacted by the increased rainfall and flooding, and the increasing of high temperatures. World Meteorological Organization states that the period from 1991 to 2022 showed an average inclination of warming trends of about 0.2 Celsius (32.36 Fahrenheit) per decade, and these trends may be higher in the Caribbean.
Exposure to extreme heat, heat-related symptoms, and other weather impacts is as much of a labour issue as it is climate. Schools serve as a collective environment where children, teachers, caregivers, and other personnel navigate simultaneously. Insufficient resources such as water supply, suitable shelter, and cooling systems to mitigate hazardous climate impacts create an additional burden on children and their families to source and provide alternatives to meet these needs. Factors such as poor ventilation, absence of cooling systems, and crowded classrooms can lead to exposure to increasing heat temperatures. Inadequate safety resources and protections against climate hazards can result in higher rates of absenteeism and interrupted learning, as children become irritable, uncomfortable, and intolerable of conditions that are unsafe for their well-being. Common symptoms such as dizziness may cause disorientation and distress that can affect the child’s overall well-being and impact their ability to perform.
Climate change ambassador Mikhaela Browne based in Trinidad and Tobago expressed some concerning factors for children and climate. She explained that “the daily increase in heat would impact adolescents and young children excessively, resulting in the inability to concentrate at school and heat-related symptoms such as heat stress and dehydration. Browne noted that students would typically have to increase their water supply, especially students who partake in outdoor sports and experience heat-related symptoms at an increasing rate.” Despite the growing need for resources, Browne noted that “not everyone can purchase or carry water to school every day. She added that in Trinidad, some schools do not have air conditioning units or any other adequate way of cooling down promptly.”
After expanding her outlook on climate change and its impact on children and youths, Browne shared some solutions that may alleviate the effects for these vulnerable demographics. She recommended, “To avoid the heat, schools should install water coolers so that everyone can have access to readily available water. Another suggestion that was put forward was setting up ‘Green Space’ and/or garden areas where students can relax in the shade outdoors and have more water breaks during periods of intense activity. All parties must take a holistic approach to [risk reduction and mitigation].”
Education quality will most likely take a significant blow due to climate change's impact on teachers as well. Caribbean Women in Leadership states that the World Bank reports that in Latin America and the Caribbean, 58% of secondary school teaching staff are women. However, in some Caribbean countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia, Jamaica, Dominica, the Bahamas, and Antigua and Barbuda, over 70 percent of the teaching staff are women. Reported by 2019 to 2020 EDUCATION STATISTIC DIGEST , over two-thousand (2000) female teachers and members of staff in government and government assisted schools alone, across all counties of Trinidad and Tobago, are between the ages of forty-five (45) to fifty-five (55), which is the average age range of women transitioning to menopausal bodily state, stated by National Institute on Aging . The increase of intense heat can further impact these female teachers who are going through this biological shift, because climate change, according to ScienceDirect, can worsen menopause-related symptoms including cardiovascular and metabolic conditions. Low estrogens and aging may further exacerbate gender-related vulnerabilities to climate change adverse events, such as exposure to extreme high temperatures. This can cause immense emotional and physical distress for female teachers, not only hindering their livelihoods but also their careers, which include teaching.
Climate-related hazards can be very uncomfortable and overwhelming for children and should not be overlooked. This can affect their safety and well-being at home, school, or any other environment that they navigate. For children who attend schools, this can significantly impact their performance and add financial constraints for parents or caregivers. Children are one of the most vulnerable members of our society, and climate change does not discriminate against anyone. Children must be kept at the forefront of strategies for climate risk reduction, where societies take a more preventative approach to avoid any more damaging effects this climate crisis is having on their future.
About the Author
Shania James (she/her) is a young Trinidadian activist who is passionate about social justice and protecting the rights of children. Grounded by her own experience, she advocates for the fair treatment of children through grass-roots advocacy.
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