MBA M1 getting warm

All of the power going into a Mac eventually comes out again as heat, as happens with any computer. Online classes are going to be doing a fair amount of video processing, and data compression and decompression. All of which consume power. And a Mac is designed to use the chassis to help keep the electronics cool, so the chassis will get warm when busy.

Did you perchance add any apps, or configure any additional activities, or add remote data synchronization, over those same two weeks? More work?

Added load means added warmth. And again, warmth when busy is normal.

Some add-ons such as anti-malware, add-on VPN clients, and add-on cleaner apps—generally not the sort of apps I’d recommend installing and using—can increase load, which means more heat.

If you want to see a little more about what your Mac is doing, launch Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities, and watch the processor and storage and network activity.

But again, a busy Mac is a warm Mac.