The Department of Education has clarified that schools may suspend both classroom instruction and online learning when the heat index reaches at least 42 degrees Celsius, as the Philippines prepares for increasingly severe El Niño conditions.
Education Undersecretary Malcolm Garma explained on October 28 that students can experience significant discomfort and health risks even while studying at home. Education Secretary Sonny Angara also emphasised that schools must coordinate suspension decisions with their local government units.
Under DepEd Memorandum No. 64, series of 2026, school authorities are expected to use local heat conditions to determine appropriate learning arrangements. When the heat index reaches 33 to 41 degrees Celsius, physical classes are suspended in favour of home-based activities. At 42 degrees Celsius or higher, both onsite and home-based academic activities are suspended.
The guidance aims to protect students and school personnel without imposing unnecessary nationwide closures. School officials are expected to monitor local conditions and coordinate decisions rather than assume that a single temperature reading applies throughout the country.
