Climate change is no longer just a distant threat; it’s impacting our everyday lives and is now severely disrupting education systems around the world. A recent UNESCO report highlights how heat, floods, and storms are causing significant learning losses, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, and threatening to undo decades of educational progress.
The Toll on Education
Climate-related stressors such as extreme heat, wildfires, storms, floods, droughts, diseases, and rising sea levels are severely impacting education. According to the 2024 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) report, these stressors lead to frequent school closures, especially in vulnerable countries, increasing the risk of learning loss and higher dropout rates.
Natural Disasters and Educational Setbacks
The report shows that over the past two decades, 75% of extreme weather events have led to school closures, affecting over five million people. Natural disasters such as floods and cyclones have not only resulted in the deaths of students and teachers but have also caused extensive damage to school infrastructure. For example, the 2013 floods in Jakarta severely disrupted school access, with schools being used as emergency shelters and some closing due to damage. Similarly, Cyclone Idai in 2019 destroyed 3,400 classrooms in Mozambique, depriving 305,000 children of education.
Impact of Extreme Heat
High temperatures also have detrimental effects on education. A study linking census and climate data from 29 countries between 1969 and 2012 found that higher-than-average temperatures during prenatal and early life stages were linked to fewer years of schooling, particularly in Southeast Asia.
In China, increased temperatures have reduced high school graduation and college entrance rates. In the United States, a one-degree Celsius increase in school year temperature without air conditioning lowered test scores by 1%, disproportionately affecting African American and Hispanic students and accounting for about 5% of the racial achievement gap.
Rainfall Variability and Education in South Asia
Variability in rainfall, especially through floods, also negatively impacts education. For instance, the 2010 flood in Pakistan resulted in children and adolescents in flooded districts being 4% less likely to attend school compared to their peers in non-flooded districts. In India, early life exposure to rainfall shocks negatively affected vocabulary, mathematics, and non-cognitive skills, with more severe effects on boys and children of less-educated parents.
Vulnerable Populations at Greater Risk
Marginalized populations are disproportionately affected by climate-induced educational disruptions. In 2019, eight of the ten countries most impacted by extreme weather events were low- or lower-middle-income countries. Of the 33 countries identified as having extremely high climate risks for children, 29 are considered fragile states.
Mitigating Climate Impact on Education
The report emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to climate adaptation, which includes coordinated planning across multiple sectors, curriculum reforms, teacher training, and increased community awareness and involvement. It also highlights the urgent need to enhance the resilience of school infrastructure to withstand and adapt to the impacts of climate change, noting that current efforts are inadequate.
By taking comprehensive measures, it is possible to mitigate the impact of climate change on education and protect the progress made over the past decades.