Making a Silent Killer Visible
Catalysing policy action to protect school students' health and wellbeing from extreme heat in Latin America.
About the project
Why this research matters
Extreme heat is one of the most dangerous yet least visible consequences of climate change. For school-age children spending hours in inadequately ventilated classrooms, it poses a direct threat to their health, cognitive performance and wellbeing.
This project brings together researchers, civil society organisations and health advocates from across Latin America to understand the scale of the problem and generate evidence that drives concrete policy change.
We work across Chile, Colombia and Peru —countries facing rapid warming trends— to build a regional picture of heat exposure in schools and develop practical, policy-ready recommendations.
- 3Countries: Chile, Colombia and Peru
- 5Partner institutions across the region
- ∞Students we aim to protect
Research lines
What we are investigating
-
Heat exposure measurement
Documenting temperature conditions inside classrooms across different contexts and socioeconomic settings in the region.
-
Health and cognitive impacts
Assessing how extreme heat affects students' physical health, mental wellbeing and learning capacity.
-
Policy landscape analysis
Mapping existing regulations, gaps and opportunities for heat-related school health policy in Chile, Colombia and Peru.
-
Equity and vulnerability
Understanding which communities and schools are most at risk, with a focus on socioeconomic disparities.
-
Knowledge translation
Transforming research evidence into accessible materials for policymakers, educators and the public.
-
Policy engagement
Working with governments and civil society to turn evidence into protective policies for school communities.
News
Latest news
See all news-
EscuelasCool at the Global Heat Forum 2026 in Bangkok
From 6 to 9 October 2026 we will be at the Global Heat Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, the leading international gathering on heat, health and climate resilience. The Forum is convened by the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN), Wellcome, the Rockefeller Foundation and ClimateWorks...
Read the story: EscuelasCool at the Global Heat Forum 2026 in Bangkok -
Introducing EscuelasCool
We are launching EscuelasCool, funded by the Wellcome Climate Impacts Award, to make the impact of extreme heat on the health and wellbeing of school students in Latin America visible.
Read the story: Introducing EscuelasCool
Partner institutions
Who we work with
- Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia Peru
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Chile
- Universidad de los Andes Colombia
- Corporación Ciudades Chile
- MICROB-R Regional
Contact
Interested in this research?
Whether you are a researcher, policymaker, journalist or simply curious, we would love to hear from you.
- Principal Investigator
- Yasna Palmeiro-Silva
- ypalmeiro@uc.cl