A child faints in a classroom where the thermometer reads 36 °c. Another child walks through a vineyard in France where solar panels cast shade, cooling the air, retaining moisture, and increasing grape yields by 60%.
Same sun. Different futures.
My grandmother used to say, “Plant your shade before the sun burns your back.” Shade was a tree then. Today it is survival. In schools, it means whitewashed rooftops that reflect heat, solar panels that both cool and generate electricity, trees that breathe life into courtyards, and batteries that keep fans humming when the grid fails.
I recall taking exams in a hot classroom, where my teacher sprinkled water on the floor to give us a brief five-minute reprieve from the heat. After that, the oppressive temperature returned. This vulnerability has become the everyday experience for millions of students around the globe.
UNESCO warns that extreme heat alone could cut a child’s lifetime learning by 1.5 years. In 2024, climate-related disasters disrupted education for 242 million children worldwide. In India, heatwaves now close schools for days at a time. Last year, 47,000 schools in the Philippines were forced to shut during a heatwave. When classrooms collapse, learning falls apart.
But here’s the other truth: schools can be more than victims. They can be climate leaders. When we adapt schools, we safeguard learning, reduce emissions, and strengthen resilience for entire communities.
In the global north, momentum is growing. In the U.S., Generation180’s Solar for All Schools is assisting districts with installing panels on rooftops and electrifying buses. In the UK, Let’s Go Zero connects thousands of schools to national decarbonisation initiatives, while Salix Finance offers grants. In Canada, Green Schools Green Future monitors energy use. In Australia, the Eco-Schools Network incorporates renewable projects into the curriculum. And globally, UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership connects action across continents.
Yet in Africa, South Asia, and much of the Global South, schools lack the luxury of dedicated green funds. Innovation here is about survival, not luxury. And the solutions don’t always need millions — they require creativity, partnerships, and the will to act.
Practical pathways for climate-friendly schools
Cool the roof, save the mind
In rural African countries, students and parents spend their Saturdays mixing lime and water to whitewash their school roofs. The cost is less than $50. The following Monday, classrooms are 6–7 °C cooler. The children can breathe again. Sometimes, the most transformative innovations are also the most affordable.
Plant shade today, harvest comfort tomorrow
Fast-growing native trees—neem, moringa, mango—can provide shade within just two years. They cool courtyards, reduce dust, sequester carbon, and even bear fruit. Schoolyards become both cooler and healthier.
Schools as community microgrid
Even when schools lack a budget, partnerships with NGOs or private companies can enable solar solutions. A school can provide rooftop space or land for panels, and the partner installs and maintains them. The community covers the cost of power, while the school benefits from free or discounted electricity. In Bangladesh, schools already serve as power hubs after dark.
Shared batteries and partnerships
Telecom companies in rural Africa and Asia already operate solar plus battery systems to power cell towers. With the right agreements, these batteries can also support nearby schools. One piece of infrastructure, two services.
Diaspora and local NGOs
Crowdfunding and remittances can fund plug-and-play solar kits. In Uganda, diaspora families send money that purchases simple kits to light classrooms and operate fans. Small, targeted contributions have immediate impact.
Students as innovators
In most countries, young people have built rainwater harvesting tanks using recycled drums, cultivated herbal gardens, and created low-cost shade structures. When students design and carry out these projects, schools become living laboratories of resilience.
Why this matters for India and many countries in the global south
India has the largest school system in the world, with over 1.5 million schools. Public schools are among the biggest energy consumers in many communities. They are also often the first to shut down during heatwaves or floods. However, with the right interventions, these same schools can become pillars of climate resilience.
- They reduce operating costs, freeing budgets for books and teachers.
- They create cool, safe classrooms where children can concentrate.
- They act as neighbourhood hubs for clean energy, water security, and shade.
Imagine every government school roof painted reflective white, lined with solar panels, and surrounded by native trees. Imagine each campus serving as a community resilience hub, powering fans during heatwaves, providing shelters during floods, and offering internet access for learning.
Youth and leaders
Your voices have already reshaped climate policy from Colorado to Calcutta. Keep pressing. Keep designing. Every tree you plant, every project you lead, proves that change is possible.
Stop seeing schools as budget drains. Start funding them as resilience anchors. Every bare roof is wasted potential. Every overheated classroom is a wasted mind. And here’s the truth leaders must remember: you can’t teach a child who is too hot to think.
Closing crescendo
Because every child deserves to learn without fear of fainting from heat.
Because every classroom deserves to breathe.
Because the same sun can burn or it can build.
And because the future of our children will be written, line by line, under that same sun.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely my own and do not represent those of my employer, institution, or any organisations I am affiliated with.
