Carinthian Governor Fellner calls for summer holidays to be brought forward due to heat

Consequently, one must "nun sollte man auch bei den Sommerferien nachziehen", said Fellner. June today feels like an August did a few decades ago – and that with significantly higher temperatures: "Der Juni ist heute das, was vor Jahrzehnten der August gewesen ist – und das mit einigen Graden mehr jenseits der 30er Marke".

Harvest times as historical justification

Fellner called on the federal government to "rasch zu handeln und sicherzustellen, dass wir bereits im nächsten Jahr früher in die Sommerferien starten können". This would require a change to the holiday regulations, which according to Fellner's account have remained essentially unchanged for around 80 years. "Wir halten starr an einer Ferienregelung fest, die vor 80 Jahren fixiert worden ist", criticised the SPÖ politician. "Ein Festhalten an der 80 Jahre alten Regelung sei nicht mehr zeitgemäß", said Fellner.

If the summer holidays were brought forward by two weeks, Fellner's calculation yields an additional two weeks of instruction between the end of the summer holidays and the start of the autumn holidays. "dass man zwischen dem Ende der Sommerferien und dem Start der Herbstferien zwei Wochen mehr Unterrichtszeit hätte", argued Fellner. This additional time is "unterrichtstechnisch wichtig" and "sinnvoller" for the autumn holidays.

Pedagogical aspects of a forward shift

At the same time, Fellner pointed to pedagogical advantages: if the autumn holidays only began after a longer phase of instruction in early autumn, they would gain more weight. "Die darauffolgenden Herbstferien bekämen durch mehr Unterrichtszeit im Frühherbst einen echten pädagogischen Sinn", said Fellner. "Zwei Wochen, die unterrichtstechnisch wichtig sind und die die Herbstferien auch aus pädagogischer Sicht sinnvoller machen", he summarised.

Initiative joins Vienna's effort

The initiative from Carinthia does not stand alone: in the week before, Vienna's education councillor Bettina Emmerling (NEOS/pink) had already advocated bringing forward the summer holidays. She cited "die spürbare Zunahme von Hitzetagen" as her reason. With Fellner's push, the debate is now also gaining momentum from a federal state.

Responsibility for setting the summer holidays in Austria lies with the federal government, specifically with the Ministry of Education. Fellner therefore turned explicitly to the federal government with the appeal to swiftly initiate a corresponding amendment. Whether and when a change will actually occur is currently open; the federal government has not yet officially commented on the initiative from Carinthia.

Responsibility lies with the federal government

The move fits into a broader debate about adapting school structures to climate change. Alongside shorter summer holidays, structural measures such as sun protection, ventilation systems and heat protection concepts for school buildings are also being discussed in several European countries. Fellner's argumentation links these two strands by citing both pragmatic heat protection reasons and pedagogical advantages.

From federal circles, meanwhile, reference was made to ongoing coordination processes with the federal states. The holiday regulations are usually determined by consensus between the Ministry of Education and the state governments. Carinthia's consent would therefore not automatically be a blocking factor, but in the consensus process it would be a signal that changes the discussion.

Fellner's initiative has already been picked up by teacher representatives and parent organisations for days. Supporters argue that bringing the holidays forward would not only reduce thermal stress for students, but also improve concentration during what is already the hot final phase of the school year. Critics, on the other hand, see family holiday planning – which is coordinated early with the current dates – jeopardised by short-notice changes.

Reactions and open questions

While representatives of other federal states have so far been reticent, the initiative from Carinthia does show a new dynamic in the debate. In his press release, Fellner urgently appealed to "rasch zu handeln" in order to allow the summer holidays to begin earlier as early as the 2027 school year. According to an APA report dated 29 June 2026, an official response from the Ministry of Education is still pending.

Overall, the initiative makes clear the growing political pressure to act in the face of measurably rising temperatures in Austria. The shift of the main agricultural harvest by about two weeks is an indicator that has significance beyond school and holiday policy – for the economy, tourism and regional planning.

The discussion about a forward shift is therefore likely to gather further pace in the coming weeks. With his initiative, Fellner has launched a debate that extends beyond Carinthia's state borders and that may ultimately result in an actual amendment to the holiday regulations in force for decades.