Heat-Proof Education in Latin America and the Caribbean

This report provides a comprehensive understanding of how extreme heat affects education in Latin America and the Caribbean and what education systems can do to anticipate, respond to, and adapt to its impacts. It examines how high temperatures reduce learning outcomes and disrupt educational trajectories, weakening the development of human capital. Based on empirical evidence, climate projections, and territorial analysis, it identifies the schools, students, and teachers that are most exposed and have the least capacity to respond.It presents strategies to strengthen the resilience of the education sector, including school infrastructure that ensures thermal comfort in the classroom, flexible calendars that avoid exposure to high temperatures, and distance education that guarantees the continuity of service when in-person attendance is not possible. Each intervention is analyzed in terms of cost-benefit, demonstrating that investing in educational resilience generates substantial and sustainable benefits. Finally, the report details how to integrate thermal risk into educational planning and how to sustain the agenda through sustainable financing schemes that combine sector resources, cooperation, and innovative sources. These actions demonstrate that adapting education to extreme heat is a strategic investment to protect learning outcomes and human capital in the region.