Cold weather keeps children out of school in Rio Grande do Sul.

Two municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul suspended classes in their municipal school systems today due to weather phenomena. In Coronel Bicaco, in the northwest of the state, 700 students stayed home to avoid the cold they would feel traveling to school and even during classes. In Três Forquilhas, on the coast, the suspension of activities for 800 students is due to the damage caused by a windstorm yesterday.

In two state schools in Porto Alegre and one in Caxias do Sul that offer classes in makeshift classrooms inside shipping containers, teachers have noticed a drop in student attendance due to the cold. The director of the Administrative Department of the State Education Secretariat, Claudio Somacal, acknowledges that the environment is not conducive to students remaining there, both because it is very cold in winter and very hot in summer, and says that all students will be transferred to suitable buildings by October. He also points out that the choice of using containers as temporary classrooms was made by the previous government and is disapproved of by the current one, which has already deactivated these facilities in four schools since the beginning of the year. In some cases, children resort to blankets to keep warm.

Observers from Metsul Meteorologia confirmed that the cold wave caused rapid snowfall in Vacaria and São Marcos, in the northeastern mountains of the state, and freezing rain in at least eight municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul today. This is the second consecutive day that the phenomenon has repeated itself in the region. Frost is expected in almost the entire state. According to the forecast from the 8th Meteorological District, the temperature may drop to -3 degrees Celsius during the early morning and will not exceed 16 degrees Celsius in the afternoon.