Over 400 million students affected by climate-related school closures since 2022: WB

Between January 2022 and June 2024, an estimated 404 million students, at a minimum, faced school closures due to extreme weather events, according to a new World Bank report.

These widespread disruptions spanned at least 81 countries, with 63 of them being low- and middle-income nations. Schools were forced to close temporarily in response to floods, storms, and heatwaves, it added.

The report examined the detrimental impacts of climate change on education in low- and middle-income countries and offered solutions to harness education to spur climate action. It also estimates that a one-time investment of $18.51 per child can mitigate the impact from climate shocks.

New analysis in the report published on Thursday local time titled “Choosing Our Future: Education for Climate Action”, showed that the climate crisis is hitting education the hardest in low-income countries, with 18 school days lost annually on average, compared to 2.4 days in wealthier nations.

A 10-year-old in 2024 will experience three times more floods, five times more droughts, and 36 times more heatwaves over their lifetime compared to a 10-year-old in 1970. And even when schools are open, students are losing learning due to climate. In Brazil, students in the poorest 50 per cent of municipalities could lose half a year’s learning due to heat alone.

“Young people are directly impacted by this crisis, and they are eager to act. Yet education systems are not delivering the information, skills and opportunities they need in a climate-affected world,” said Mamta Murthi, Vice President, People Vice Presidency, World Bank. “

Education is not only under threat from climate change—it is massively overlooked in climate financing. Past analyses have shown that a mere 1.5 per cent of climate finance goes to education.

But new estimates in the report show that for $18.51 per child, schools can help better safeguard learning from climate change – by improving classroom temperature, building resilient infrastructure, and training teachers, among other adaptation measures.

Luis Benveniste, Global Director of Education at the World Bank, said “Improving school infrastructure, ensuring learning continuity, and leveraging students and teachers as effective agents of positive change can all contribute to a more livable planet.”

Surveys in the report shed light on the disconnect between the eagerness of young people in low- and middle-income countries to do something and the lack of knowledge and skills to act.

Around 65 per cent of young people across eight countries believe their futures are at stake if they don’t develop green skills, but 60 per cent also believe they didn’t learn enough about climate change in school.

The report lays out evidence, data, on-the-ground examples, and a policy agenda to support country efforts.

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