Schools in Limburg, Brabant and Gelderland have been stopping lessons early or giving lessons outside as teachers and pupils in the south of the country struggle to cope with the tropical temperatures.

One school in Maastricht sent all its pupils home at 13.30 hours as the temperature soared in classrooms on the upper floors. ‘It became impossible,’ head teacher Janny de Vries told local broadcaster 1Limburg. ‘Pupils were complaining of headaches and dizziness.’

By contrast, the Pieter Breughelschool in Arnhem moved lessons into the nearby woods, where the shade kept things cool. Others have introduced a special ‘tropical timetable’, with lessons starting earlier in the morning so that pupils can go home before it gets too hot in class.

Civil servants in Maastricht have also been allowed to go home early as the temperature reached upwards of 35 degrees in some parts of the council complex, 1Limburg said.

The national meteorological service KNMI on Monday issued yellow alert warnings and says it expects the tropical temperatures to remain in the south and east of the country until Thursday. From Friday it will be cooler with some rain, the KNMI says.