Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Pediatric Association (IDAI) has asked schools to consider the weather or climate change conditions while planning learning activities for students.
Climate change can clearly disrupt learning systems and activities; this needs attention," IDAI’s Disaster Task Force chairperson Kurniawan Taufiq Khadafi said here on Tuesday.
At a virtual media briefing on the impact of climate change on children’s health, Khadafi explained that climate change can trigger extreme weather such as intense rainfall that can lead to floods.
This could make children's time at school shorter as schools need to be closed during such events.
Although the current temperatures in Indonesia are not as extreme as those in Thailand, Bangladesh, or India, IDAI has appealed to schools to protect students from dehydration.
He asked schools to avoid conducting physical activities for students outdoors.
If the weather does not allow for outdoor exercise, he advised teachers to invite students to do activities indoors instead.
This is to ensure that their body temperature remains normal and they do not get dehydrated, he explained.
If hot temperatures are disregarded, it is feared that many children will suffer from heat stroke, he said.
"They could faint (because of) heat stroke. To anticipate that, we must advise them to drink more (water), especially in this weather," he added.
Meanwhile, when the weather is cold, teachers must ensure that the room temperature is warm so that kindergarten students do not experience hypothermia.
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IDAI chairperson Piprim Basarah Yanuarso said that global climate change can be felt after this year's Eid holiday.
He highlighted that climate change can trigger many kinds of adverse impacts on children or those aged 0–18 years.
"The issue of climate change will be different in each country; (the impact on the ones) that have four seasons and (those with) two seasons will be different. However, in principle, children are a vulnerable group who must be protected. Climate change must not prevent them from growing and developing properly," he explained.
