At least 242 million children in 85 countries had their schooling interrupted in 2024 because of heatwaves, cyclones, flooding and other extreme weather conditions, the United Nations Children's Fund said in a new report released on January 24.
UNICEF report reveals that extreme weather events in 2024 disrupted schooling for 242 million children worldwide, with low-income nations facing the worst impacts
At least 242 million children in 85 countries had their schooling interrupted in 2024 because of heatwaves, cyclones, flooding and other extreme weather conditions, the United Nations Children's Fund said in a new report released on January 24.
The report stated that the climate-related disasters kept one in seven school-going children worldwide out of class at some point in 2024. It also highlighted that low-income nations in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa were hit especially hard by these events in addition to other regions.
Torrential rains and floods in Italy near the end of the year disrupted schooling for more than 900,000 children and flooding in Spain halted classes for thousands. In addition, Europe underwent deadly floods, while Asia and Africa witnessed flooding and cyclones.
According to UNICEF, heatwaves also caused school closures in 2024 as the Earth recorded its first hottest year, with global temperatures reaching more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels.
In April alone, more than 118 million children’s schooling was interrupted as large parts of the Middle East and Asia, from Gaza in the west to the Philippines in the southeast, experienced a week-long heatwave with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), stated the UNICEF report.
The climate crisis has severely disrupted education worldwide, particularly impacting low and middle income countries, according to Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM) released in July 2024.
As per the report, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are disproportionately affected by disruptions caused by extreme climate events. Frequent school closures due to extreme weather events like floods, cyclones, heatwaves and other disasters are increasing learning loss and dropout rates. The situation is worse in countries with limited resources and fragile infrastructure.