Murcia suspends four schools

Four schools in Spain’s Murcia region suspended classes on June 2 as extreme heat pushed temperatures toward 40 degrees Celsius and renewed pressure on the regional government over classroom conditions. The affected centers were Joaquín Cantero and La Florida in Las Torres de Cotillas, Garre Alpáñez in Balsicas and Valle de Leiva in Alhama, according to regional media reports. AEMET, Spain’s state weather agency, had issued an orange warning for the Vega del Segura and yellow warnings for other parts of the region ahead of the hottest hours. Opposition parties and education unions used the closures to demand a formal heat protocol and a timetable for school air-conditioning works. ### Which schools actually stopped classes? La Verdad and other Murcia outlets reported that four centers halted classes because of the heat: Joaquín Cantero, La Florida, Garre Alpáñez and Valle de Leiva. Onda Regional reported five centers had suspended activity, including a school in Molina de Segura, showing that disruptions extended beyond the four schools cited most consistently in local coverage. (laopiniondemurcia.es) IES Valle de Leiva in Alhama had already activated its own heat protocol days earlier after classrooms exceeded 30C, La Opinión de Murcia reported on May 29. A school document published on the center’s website says families can authorize students to leave early if temperature thresholds are met. (orm.es) ### How hot did Murcia get, and what did AEMET warn? AEMET’s bulletin for June 2 forecast maximum temperatures of 40C in the Vega del Segura under an orange alert between 1400 and 2000 local time. The same bulletin put the Valle del Guadalentín, Lorca y Águilas under a yellow alert for 38C and Campo de Cartagena y Mazarrón under a yellow alert for 36C. (laopiniondemurcia.es) Murcia broadcasters and local outlets said the June 2 episode was among the most intense heat events so far this spring. RTVE Murcia reported the regional Education Department was already assuming that school activity would remain altered through the end of term because of high temperatures. (noticias.112rmurcia.es) ### Who is pressing the regional government, and over what? Podemos, IU-Verdes and the PSRM-PSOE demanded that Murcia’s regional government adopt a formal protocol against heat in classrooms and publish an investment calendar to climatize schools, La Opinión de Murcia reported. The same report said the debate intensified after a teacher at IES Cañada de las Eras in Molina de Segura suffered heatstroke while teaching. (rtve.es) ANPE Murcia also called for a coordinated response and an urgent climate-control plan for schools. In a statement carried by local outlets, the union said the Education Department was acting with “improvisación” and asked for automatic measures during weather alerts. (laopiniondemurcia.es) ### Is this a one-day disruption or a wider school operations problem? RTVE Murcia said the heat had triggered protests, labor-inspector complaints and class suspensions, while the Education Department was taking for granted that schools would see altered activity until the end of the school year. That points to a broader operational issue rather than a single afternoon closure, though the extent of further suspensions will depend on temperatures at each center and local decisions. (murcia.com) June 2 also came as Murcia dealt with a wider heat episode across the region. Local reports tied the school disruptions to the same weather pattern that pushed inland temperatures to 40C and prompted official warnings for several comarcas. ### What comes next for schools in Murcia? AEMET’s June 2 warning expired at midnight leading into June 3, and the agency’s Murcia alerts page showed no active warnings when checked on June 3. (rtve.es) The political dispute, however, is continuing through opposition demands, union complaints and school-level protocols already in use at centers such as Valle de Leiva. (aemet.es) (la7tv.es)