CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A recent report from the United Nations Children’s Fund revealed that over 242 million children across 85 countries faced educational disruptions last year due to extreme weather events such as heatwaves, cyclones, and flooding. This alarming statistic indicates that one in seven children attending school globally experienced some form of interruption in their education during 2024 due to climate-related incidents.
The report highlights the devastation wrought by extreme weather in various regions, with hundreds of schools damaged or destroyed, particularly in low-income countries located in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. However, regions such as southern Europe also felt the impact; torrential rains and significant flooding in Italy at the year’s end affected more than 900,000 students, while catastrophic floods led to school cancellations in parts of Spain.
UNICEF emphasized that heatwaves were the most prevalent climate hazard affecting educational institutions last year, attributing it to the planet experiencing its hottest year on record. Notably, in April alone, more than 118 million children faced interruptions as regions in the Middle East and Asia, stretching from Gaza to the Philippines, suffered through prolonged heatwaves with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Catherine Russell, UNICEF’s executive director, stated, “Children are more vulnerable to the impacts of weather-related crises, including stronger and more frequent heatwaves, storms, droughts, and flooding.” She elaborated that children’s physiological characteristics—in particular, their tendency to heat up faster, sweat less efficiently, and take longer to cool down compared to adults—heighten their vulnerability to extreme temperatures. The detrimental conditions not only hinder children’s ability to learn in overheated classrooms but also impede their journey to school amid flooded pathways or destroyed facilities.
The data reflects that approximately 74% of those affected in 2024 were situated in middle- and low-income nations, underscoring the harsh realities that climate extremes impose on the world’s poorest regions. In April, flooding obliterated over 400 schools in Pakistan, while in May, Afghanistan faced deadly heatwaves followed by severe floods that devastated more than 110 educational institutions, according to the report.
Persistent drought in southern Africa, worsened by the El Niño phenomenon, poses additional threats to the education and future prospects of millions of children. The situation appears to continue deteriorating, as the impoverished French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean was devastated by Cyclone Chido in December and subsequently impacted by Tropical Storm Dikeledi, leaving children on the islands without school for six weeks.
In Mozambique, Cyclone Chido obliterated over 330 schools and three regional education departments, further challenging access to education in an area already struggling to meet educational needs. UNICEF noted that the current state of the world’s schools and education systems remains largely unprepared to confront the repercussions of extreme weather events.
