A World Bank report has shown that no fewer than 404 million students globally have been unable to access their schools due to climate-related issues, including floods between January 2022 and June 2024.
The report, titled “Choosing Our Future: Education for Climate Action,” connected the huge statistics to at least 81 countries, including Nigeria temporarily shutting down schools due to floods, storms, and heatwaves.
According to the World Bank, climate change, including floods, is causing significant school closures, adding that the disruptions remained largely invisible because relevant authorities are not tracking them. The bank also called on governments of countries affected by severe flooding, to take immediate steps to forestall future occurrences.
The report comes as Nigeria currently battles high-levelled flooding due to incessant rainfalls which had sacked residents from their homes and communities, with the latest and most touching reports coming from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.
The report noted that Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as cyclones, floods, droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires, as well as the probability of co-occurring events. These extreme weather events are increasingly disrupting schooling and precipitating learning losses and dropouts.
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“Climate change is causing massive school closures. These disruptions remain invisible because they are not being tracked. There is no official data on the frequency and severity of school closures due to extreme climate events. Consequently, this crisis is going largely unnoticed, “the report said.
According to the report, an estimated 404 million students faced school closures due to extreme weather events, between January 2022 and June 2024. A total of 81 countries shut down schools temporarily due to floods, storms, and heatwaves.
The report also mentioned that for less than $20 per student, schools can adapt and minimise learning losses.
“Climate-related school closures mean students are losing days of learning. Even when schools are open, students are losing learning due to rising temperatures.
It noted that governments can take steps to harness education and learning for climate action by, for example, improving foundational and STEM skills, mainstreaming climate education, and building teacher capacity. Governments can also prioritize green skills and innovation in tertiary education to help accelerate the shift to more sustainable practices.
“Despite their prevalence, climate-related school closures remain invisible because no one is tracking them,”said the report. “Education systems can empower, equip, and skill young people for climate mitigation and adaptation. At the same time, climate change-induced heat and extreme weather events are significantly disrupting learning, with low-income countries being disproportionately affected. Governments must act now to adapt education systems for climate change.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
