Africa: 'The Water Comes Up to Our Knees' - Climate Hazards Shut Millions of Children Out of School in 2025
UNICEF said storms, floods and heatwaves affected 109 million students and raised dropout risks, with three-quarters of those hit in poorer countries.
- A new UNICEF report released Wednesday states climate hazards disrupted schooling for an estimated 171 million students in 2025, representing roughly one in ten students worldwide. Storms were the most common cause of disruptions, affecting 109 million students, followed by floods and heatwaves.
- Severe weather events caused widespread school closures across regions. In Pakistan, monsoon floods in August delayed school returns for over 28 million students, while a Khamsin in Egypt prompted a nationwide class suspension affecting another 28 million students.
- In Papua New Guinea, 16-year-old Taudibura explained floodwaters contaminating pit toilets make school unsafe: "Usually, the water comes up to our knees and floods the pit toilets, then it becomes unhealthy for us to stay at school." Girls face heightened vulnerability, often assigned extra caregiving duties when infrastructure fails.
- UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell stressed that climate hazards "destroy schools, uproot families, and push the most vulnerable children, especially girls, out of the classroom for good." Students experiencing these disruptions could cumulatively lose at least $200 billion in lifetime earnings.
- With extreme weather risks expected to rise in coming months, UNICEF urges governments worldwide to invest in climate-resilient educational infrastructure. Such action is necessary "to protect education for children today and for future generations," the report states.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Storms, floods, heat waves caused school closures, class suspensions, other disruptions worldwide
Storms were the most common reason why students could not learn as usual in 2025, but floods and heat waves also upset the curriculum.
Africa: 'The Water Comes Up to Our Knees' - Climate Hazards Shut Millions of Children Out of School in 2025
When the creek beside Taudibura Garo's school in Papua New Guinea floods, the water doesn't stop at the gate. It rises through the pit toilets - making the school unsafe - sending the 16-year-old and her classmates home without being able to finish.
UNITED NATIONS – In 2025, more than 171 million students from all over the world, one in ten between preschool and secondary education, suffered disruptions in their education due to weather hazards, according to an analysis by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published on Thursday 10. Catherine Russell, [...]
Madrid.- The climate impacts caused in 2025 interruptions in the learning of more than 170 million students from all over the world, from preschool to high school, according to a report published on Thursday by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).The figures estimate that one in ten older students [...] The entry The climate impact interrupted in 2025 the learning of more than 170 million students, according to Unicef was first published…
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