Vulnerability and adaptation to heat waves in preschools: Experiences, impacts and responses by unit heads, educators and parents.

The study explores how the heat wave in Sweden in the summer of 2018 affected kindergartens in Norrköping Municipality. The researchers investigate how the heat affected the children and what kind of reactions the children had to the heat.

The results show that both children and staff were exposed to high temperatures, and that they were affected by the heat wave. The study concludes that heat waves can be a major problem in kindergartens. Both children and adults feel bad when it is hot, and the way the kindergarten is organised makes it difficult to cope with the heat. This makes kindergartens vulnerable to heat waves.

The data material consists of a survey among 33 unit managers responsible for 77 kindergartens in Norrköping Municipality. In addition, the study includes qualitative interviews with five educators and five parents, as well as temperature measurements in three selected kindergartens.

Malmquist, A., Lundgren, T., Hjerpe, M., Glaas, E., Turner, E. & Storbjörk, S. (2021). "Vulnerability and adaptation to heat waves in preschools: Experiences, impacts and responses by unit heads, educators and parents". Climate Risk Management, 31:100271.