Extreme Weather Disrupts Global Child Education

A new report by UNICEF reveals that at least 242 million children in 85 countries had their schooling interrupted in 2024 due to extreme weather events such as heatwaves, cyclones, and flooding. This amounts to one in seven school-going children globally. Low-income nations in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa were particularly hard hit, with hundreds of schools destroyed in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Mozambique. Even southern Europe, including Italy and Spain, experienced significant disruptions. UNICEF executive director Katherine Russell emphasized children's unique vulnerability to these climate hazards. The report also noted that the world's education systems are largely ill-equipped to handle the effects of extreme weather, with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation weather phenomenon exacerbating drought conditions in southern Africa.