Puerto Rico's public schools clamor for air conditioning to get relief from record-breaking heat
Students and teachers are sweltering in public schools across Puerto Rico and demanding that the government install air conditioners as the U.S. Caribbean territory bakes under record heat this year SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Public school teacher Ángel Muñiz grabbed a thermometer and thrust it into the camera as someone recorded him inside his classroom this week. “It is about 99 degrees (37 C),” he said in a video posted on social media as seven fans whirred noisily around him. It wasn’t even noon yet, and an advisory that day warned of a heat index of up to 111 F (43.8 C). Students and teachers are sweltering in public schools across Puerto Rico that lack air conditioning and are demanding government action as the U.S. Caribbean territory struggles to respond to climate change effects while it bakes under record heat this year. Last month was the hottest August on the island since record-keeping began. Puerto Rico broke the record of the daily maximum temperature six times and the hig...