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Climate hazards disrupted school for 1 in 10 students in 2025: UNICEF
Confirmed
In Short: A new report by UNICEF reveals that one in 10 students from pre-primary to upper secondary education globally had their schooling disrupted by climate hazards last year, affecting over 171 million students, with girls being disproportionately impacted.
The report, titled 'Learning Interrupted: Global Snapshot of Climate-Related School Disruptions in 2025,' highlights that storms, floods, heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires were the leading causes of these disruptions, with storms alone affecting 109 million students.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell emphasized, 'For millions of children, climate hazards do not just disrupt classes; they also destroy their schools, uproot their families, and deprive the most vulnerable.
The agency noted that 75 percent of the affected children live in low- and lower-middle-income countries, where education systems often lack the resources to maintain learning during climate emergencies. UNICEF urged governments and partners to invest more in building new educational facilities that can withstand climate and environmental hazards.
What's confirmed
- The report, titled 'Learning Interrupted: Global Snapshot of Climate-Related School Disruptions in 2025,' highlights that storms, floods, heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires were the leading causes of these disruptions, with storms alone affecting 109 million students.
- UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell emphasized, 'For millions of children, climate hazards do not just disrupt classes; they also destroy their schools, uproot their families, and deprive the most vulnerable.
- The agency noted that 75 percent of the affected children live in low- and lower-middle-income countries, where education systems often lack the resources to maintain learning during climate emergencies. UNICEF urged governments and partners to invest more in building new educational facilities that can withstand climate and environmental hazards.
What's still developing
- The overall figures for 2025 are down on analysis of the previous year, in which UNICEF said nearly 250 million children in 85 countries – one in seven – were affected by climate hazards.
- “Damage to schools and sanitation facilities, displacement and lost family income can place additional caregiving and water-collection responsibilities on girls,” it added.
- But the agency also estimates that there could be some long-term consequences of these disasters too, stating that inaction could result in at least $200bn in lost lifetime earnings among students whose schooling was disrupted by climate-related hazards in 2025 alone.