Heat Illness Guidelines Distributed to Schools, Parents
Sunny Day. File photo by Wendy Osher.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Education and the state Department of Health sent a letter to parents with recommendations on how students can prepare for hot days, in an effort to prevent heat illness among students.
The guidelines and recommendations were compiled as the state continues to face record high temperatures.
Hilo already had at least a dozen days between Aug. 23 and Sept. 7 where a record temperature was either set or tied with old records for the same day in previous years.
Here on Maui, temperatures were tied with records on two days over the same period. Below is a list of record temperatures as documented by the National Weather Service:
| Record Temperatures (Aug. 23 – Sept. 7, 2015) | ||||
| Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 4:42 p.m. | Hilo | 90 | tied | 90 set in 1976 |
| Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015 | Hilo | 91 | break | 87 set in 2014 |
| Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015 | Hilo | 89 | break | 88 set in 1995 |
| Friday, Sept. 4, 2015 | Hilo | 89 | break | 87 set in 1990 |
| Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015 | Hilo | 93 | break | 89 set in 1987 |
| Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015 | Hilo | 92 | break | 88 set in 2014 |
| Monday, Aug. 31, 2015 | Hilo | 89 | tied | 89 set in 1996 |
| Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015 | Hilo | 89 | break | 88 set in 2007 |
| Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015 | Hilo | 89 | break | 88 set in 2007 |
| Friday, Aug. 28, 2015 | Hilo | 90 | break | 89 set in 1971 |
| Kahului | 92 | tie | 92 set in 2006 | |
| Honolulu | 92 | break | 92 set in 1986 | |
| Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015 | Hilo | 89 | break | 88 set in 2006 |
| Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015 | Hilo | 88 | tie | 88 set in 2007 |
| Kahului | 93 | tie | 93 set in 1984 | |
| Monday, Aug. 24, 2015 | Hilo | 88 | tie | 88 set in 2007 |
| Lihue | 90 | break | 89 set in 1987 | |
| Additional Record Tying Days in Kahului in August 2015 | ||||
| Friday, Aug. 21, 2015 | Kahului | 94 | tied | 94 set in 1951 |
| Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015 | Kahului | 94 | set | 92 set in 2013 |
| Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015 | Kahului | 93 | tied | 93 set in 1977 |
Education officials say schools and health aides will also receive guidance to identify heat illness-related symptoms and action steps should a student or staff member become ill.
“It was important to collaborate with public health professionals to offer sound advice to schools on how to better deal with the extreme heat teachers and students have been experiencing in classrooms,” said Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi in a press release statement.
In addition to parent letters, posters that identify symptoms and treatments are being posted in classrooms, health rooms and school offices.
The state Department of Education has been working to combat the unusually hot temperatures by installing portable air conditioners and fans in some classrooms. The department also established a partnership with Hawaiʻi 3R’s to raise funds towards cooling schools.
Last month, a total of 100 fans were donated to intermediate public schools as part of the “Keep Our Keiki Cool” program initiated by Goodfellow Brothers and Lieutenant Governor Shan Tsutsui.
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