The heat wave is taking a toll on students and teachers in particular this week.
Lambton Kent District School Board Director Jim Costello says only about 40% of the schools within the board have air-conditioning.
He says new schools and buildings that have underwent significant capital investment have cooling systems in place, and most of the primary wings and kindergarten classrooms are also air-conditioned.
He says teachers, especially at the older schools, have been encouraged to have indoor recess and nutrition breaks, added water and washroom breaks and students are encouraged to keep physical activity to a minimum. Costello says they've also cancelled all outdoor co-curricular activities for both elementary and secondary students Tuesday and Wednesday.
"We encourage teachers to pull their blinds and drapes, we encourage principals to move classes to better areas of the school if possible, students should wear light, loose fitting clothing and stay inside when possible," says Costello.
He says its very hot in some of the older buildings, especially those with two floors. He says newer schools have more environmental features and are much more efficient to operate.
"Part of the solution will be I think, for the government to look at infrastructure overall and if they can afford funding for some newer schools and consolidation of older schools, I think that will help to alleviate the problem. But, at the end of the day they're going to have to make decisions around dollars," says Costello. "If they want to allocate dollars to air-condition and retrofit older schools we would welcome the assistance in the funding, but again it comes down to is that the best use of tax payers dollars."
The director of the St. Clair Catholic District School Board sent out a reminder to principals Monday, reminding them of measures to take during extreme heat. About half of the Catholic board's schools are not air-conditioned.