Heatwave pushes Italy's southern schools to delay term start

The school year opens this week in many parts of Italy, but teachers and councils in some southern regions say the heat remains too intense for a return to the classroom, according to The Local Italy.

The report, published Monday, describes a push to delay the start of term in regions where temperatures have stayed unusually high through early September, part of a broader summer of record-breaking heat across Europe.

The report does not name specific schools or districts in Calabria, but it notes the phenomenon is concentrated in the south, where temperatures have remained highest.

The Local Italy's report cites teachers and local councils in southern regions arguing that the heat is too intense for students, with some pushing to postpone the opening of schools.

The heatwave this summer has been part of a wider European pattern. A separate report in The Local Italy, published the same day, quotes meteorologists warning that a supersized El Niño could affect Europe's climate in the coming months, potentially prolonging warm spells and disrupting seasonal norms.

The school calendar in southern regions typically starts later than in the north, a concession to the hotter climate. But this year's sustained heat has made even that later start feel premature, according to the teachers and councils cited by The Local Italy.

What happens next depends on regional authorities, who have the power to adjust the calendar. With the El Niño warning hanging over the autumn, the question of how to keep schools habitable in a warming climate is unlikely to disappear with the summer.