Puerto Rico’s School Heat Crisis Exposes Government Neglect and Infrastructure Failure

When the mercury rises on the small island of Culebra, Puerto Rico, students have nowhere truly safe to escape the oppressive heat. Zedrik, a third grader, finds scant shade under a bush; Kenneth hides in a library with broken air conditioning; Nayla retreats to an office where limited cooling barely helps. This is not an isolated hardship but a symptom of systemic failure that reflects deeply troubling negligence by both territorial and federal authorities. Despite repeated warnings about climate change bringing hotter, more frequent heat waves, Puerto Rican schools remain woefully ill-equipped. The infrastructure—already battered by Hurricane Maria in 2017...