A new UNESCO report warns climate change increasingly disrupts education systems worldwide, leading to significant learning losses. Extreme weather events like floods, droughts, and heatwaves are causing school closures, damaging infrastructure, and impacting students’ mental and physical well-being.
According to the Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM), countries with low and middle incomes are bearing the brunt of these challenges. Frequent school closures due to climate-related disasters contribute to a rise in dropout rates and a decline in academic performance.
“Exposure to heat has significant detrimental effects on children’s educational outcomes. An analysis linking census and climate data in 29 countries between 1969 and 2012 showed that exposure to higher than average temperatures during the prenatal and early life period is associated with fewer years of schooling, especially in Southeast Asia,” the report said.
The GEM report noted that a child experiencing temperatures two standard deviations above average is predicted to attain 1.5 fewer years of schooling than children experiencing average temperatures.
According to the report, the effects were more severe for boys and children of parents with lower educational attainment. An analysis of disasters experienced early in life by over 140,000 children in seven Asian countries found a negative association with school enrolment, especially for boys, and with mathematics performance, especially for girls, by the time they reach 13 to 14 years.
“High temperatures reduced high-stakes test performance in China and led to reductions in both high school graduation and college entrance rates. In the United States, without air conditioning, a school year hotter by 1 degree Celsius, reduced test scores by 1 per cent.
The report highlights the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities, with children from poorer backgrounds and those living in fragile states being hit hardest. Displacement caused by climate change further exacerbates educational disparities.
India is also grappling with these issues. Studies have linked climate shocks to lower academic achievement, particularly among boys and children from less educated families.
While the report emphasizes the urgent need for climate adaptation strategies, including building resilient schools and incorporating climate education into curricula, it notes a significant gap in awareness and action. Many policymakers underestimate the impact of climate change on education, hindering effective responses, it said.
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