Tawhida Alter, right, age 10, attends school with classmates in Bangladesh in July 2024. Bangladesh has experienced more heat waves in recent years, leading to canceled school classes.
Photo courtesy UNICEF
Climate change is harming schooling for grade-school students around the world and setting back their education, a new report finds.
Over 240 million students in 85 countries or territories had their education disrupted by extreme weather conditions in 2024, according to the report, which was released in January by UNICEF. Countries experienced major school disruptions from heat waves, tropical cyclones, wildfires, droughts, storms, floods and other extreme weather.
Summer heat waves in countries in South Asia and tropical cyclones in countries in East Asia were especially disruptive, leading to canceled classes and activities at grade schools, sometimes for a full month.
Missed classes can lead to children failing to learn basic skills in reading, writing and math that can impact their adult careers and life span.
“An estimated two-thirds of children around the world cannot read with comprehension by age 10,” the report said. “Climate hazards are exacerbating this reality.”
Researchers relied on data from the Emergency Events Database and the Assessment Capacities Project. They identified about 181 severe climate events, including nearly 120 climate hazards that closed grade schools.
Heat waves were the most common climate impact, causing 170 million students worldwide to miss classes, the report estimated.
In the Philippines, heat waves resulted in over 24 million students missing classes, while in India, over 54 million children lost school days.
In East Asia, which includes Bangladesh, Thailand and Indonesia, severe heat waves caused three-quarters of school kids to miss classes. Thailand’s Basic Education Commission halted in-person teaching for an entire month to protect students and faculty from heat-related illnesses.
Meanwhile, the frequency of school closings because of extreme heat is rising, with Latin America and the Caribbean setting regional records for closings in 2024, the report said.
African countries were impacted by severe floods, resulting in many schools shutting doors for days or weeks. They also experienced droughts, which exacerbate food insecurity, water shortages and can harm the economies of countries.
In Mozambique, cyclones generated extreme winds capable of ripping apart fragile structures. About 40% of schools in the southern African country are built of materials unlikely to withstand extreme winds, the report said. A cyclone in December damaged more than 250 schools, which interrupted the education of over 110,000 students.
In India, UNICEF has supported the country’s National Curriculum Framework, a guide to developing school courses, textbooks and learning practices. The agency has also partnered with India’s Comprehensive School Safety Program, which strives to develop resilient infrastructure for schools.
Nearly all the children in Vietnam experience the effects of climate change. When Typhoon Yagi blew through the country last year, over 2,000 schools were damaged.
UNICEF supports environmental education for students in the East Asian country. The agency also works with Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training to improve the green capacity and awareness of climate initiatives, such as the implementation of clean energy in schools. Greener schools and more climate-educated students have been the result.
Protecting children’s education and addressing climate change must be global priorities, the report said. Investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, integrating environmental education and empowering youth are essential steps.
“Education is one of the services most frequently disrupted due to climate hazards. Yet it is often overlooked in policy discussions, despite its role in preparing children for climate adaptation,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a news release. “Children’s futures must be at the forefront of all climate plans and actions.”
For more information on “Learning Interrupted: Global Snapshot of Climate-Related School Disruptions in 2024,” visit www.unicef.org.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
