Education: Unicef: Climate change is paralyzing schools worldwide

Climate change also threatens school education: According to Unicef, classes were canceled for around 242 million students in 85 countries last year due to heat waves, hurricanes, floods and droughts. The United Nations Children’s Fund published a corresponding analysis in New York on International Day of Education this Friday. The impact of “extreme climate events” on school closures and significant disruptions to school operations was examined. Heat waves were a particularly great danger.

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Pakistan and the Philippines suffered the most from “climate-related school interruptions”. According to the study, almost 74 percent of affected students lived in low- and lower-middle-income countries, but no region was spared.

South Asia was the most affected region, with 128 million students, according to the analysis. In East Asia and the Pacific, 50 million students had their education disrupted. The El Niño climate phenomenon has also had a devastating impact on Africa – with frequent heavy rains and floods in East Africa and severe droughts in parts of southern Africa, it said.

Torrential rain and floods also hit Italy in September – lessons were interrupted for more than 900,000 students. In Spain, classes were also canceled for 13,000 children and young people in October due to flooding, it was said. Unicef ​​Executive Director Catherine Russell said last year one in seven students had to miss school due to storms.

According to Unicef, prolonged school closures – especially in poorer regions – make it less likely that students will return to class and increase the risk of child marriage and child labor. It has been proven that girls are also at increased risk of dropping out of school or becoming victims of gender-based violence during and after disasters.