The United Nations Children’s Fund revealed on Thursday that extreme weather conditions in 2024 significantly disrupted education worldwide, with approximately 242 million students across 85 countries unable to attend school due to heatwaves, storms, floods, and droughts.
In its analysis, UNICEF emphasized the devastating impact of “extreme climate events” on school closures and education systems, identifying heatwaves as the most severe challenge to learning environments.
“Last year, severe weather kept one in seven students out of class, threatening their health and safety, and impacting their long-term education,” stated Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director.
The analysis identified Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Pakistan, and the Philippines as the countries most affected by climate-related interruptions to education.
UNICEF reported that 74% of the affected students were in low- and lower-middle-income nations, although the consequences of extreme climate events were felt in all regions.
South Asia emerged as the most impacted area, with 128 million students affected. Meanwhile, in East Asia and the Pacific, 50 million students faced disruptions.
Africa also bore the brunt of climate events, with East Africa experiencing floods and parts of southern Africa suffering from severe droughts, both linked to the El Niño phenomenon.
In Europe, torrential rains and floods disrupted education for over 900,000 students in Italy during September, while October brought flooding that impacted 13,000 children and teenagers in Spain.
“Education is one of the services most frequently disrupted due to climate hazards,” Russell pointed out. “Yet it is often overlooked in policy discussions, despite its role in preparing children for climate adaptation.”
She further emphasized the urgency of placing children’s education at the heart of all climate-related strategies, stating, “Children’s futures must be at the forefront of all climate-related plans and actions.”
