STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ) — Since the school year began, many schools have been forced to temporarily close or cancel activities because of extreme temperatures, including some right here in our area.

Erica Smithwick, who is the Director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State, said changes in the earth’s climate, like El Nino which is above-average warming of water, are causing temperatures to reach high levels.

“In Pennsylvania, we’re used to snow delays. We’re going to have to shift our thinking,” Smithwick said. “Children are not able to learn as well when it’s hot. I know this having raised a couple kids without air conditioning in the home. I can’t work when it’s hot and kids certainly can’t work when it’s hot.”

She said Central Pennsylvania, along with the entire state, has been on a trend of experiencing not just an increase in warmer days in general, but more extreme days.

“We actually, typically, only have a handful of really hot days in the summer. Maybe around five,” Smithwick said. “The projections are that we’re likely to have more than 30 of these days by mid-century.”

It’s not just the heat that’s impacting schools. Smithwick said she expects to see more extreme storms that will also have an impact.’

With these extreme temperature days becoming more frequent, Smithwick said it’s important to educate children and advocate to local leaders about what’s going on.

“When our kids are not able to go to school, we don’t know that they’re in a necessarily better environment,” Smithwick said. “We depend on our schools to provide safe learning environments. So, having this kind of safe infrastructure is really critical and moms, parents, all over need to start asking for it.”