UNICEF - Learning Interrupted - Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2025

Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2025

Learning Interrupted:

1. 7.

2. 3. 4. 8. 9. 10. 5. 6. Globally, at least 171 million students – from pre-primary to upper secondary education – experienced school disruptions due to climate events in 2025. 66 per cent of the affected students had classes suspended. For others, the path back to the classroom may have been less immediate: 21 per cent of students could not return to their classrooms because schools had been damaged or converted into shelters. Other students faced a shift to remote learning, experienced shortened instructional time, delayed school reopening, limited physical access to schools, or reduced school attendance and increased risk of dropout. Climate-related school disruptions in 2025 could cost affected students at least US$200 billion in lifetime earnings through lost learning and widening education inequities. At least 1 in 10 students had their schooling disrupted due to climaterelated hazards in 2025. 75 per cent of the 171 million affected students are in lowand lower middleincome countries. In 2025, storms were the most significant climate hazard worldwide to disrupt schooling, affecting an estimated 109 million students. August saw the highest number of global climate-related school disruptions, with floods as the leading hazard affecting 28 million students. October recorded the most frequent climate-related school disruptions with 23 countries suspending classes. Tropical cyclone Montha affected at least 16 million children in South Asia, while Hurricane Melissa forced more than 3 million children out of the classroom across the Caribbean. Schools in 106 countries or territories were affected by climate hazards, with 40 countries experiencing multiple instances of school disruptions. At least 11 countries had nationwide school disruptions in 2025 due to climate hazards. Storms, floods, and

across the Caribbean. Schools in 106 countries or territories were affected by climate hazards, with 40 countries experiencing multiple instances of school disruptions. At least 11 countries had nationwide school disruptions in 2025 due to climate hazards. Storms, floods, and heatwaves – all exacerbated by climate change – disrupted learning for 44 million students through nationwide school closures. Climate shocks are shutting classroom doors around the world, disrupting children’s learning and threatening their futures. UNICEF’s analysis on climate-related school disruptions in 2025 uncovers 10 key findings: 1Acknowledgements This analysis was developed by Yuanyi Ji with overall supervision from Haogen Yao, UNICEF Global Education Practice. Technical inputs were provided by Amy Wickham, Carolin Waldchen, Emma Hamilton-Clark, Helena Murseli, Katherine Curtiss, Matt Brossard and Zeynep Aydemir Koyuncu, UNICEF Global Education Practice; Jen Stephens, Nadia Zaidi, and Sean Storr, UNICEF Climate Resilience Practice; Dohyung Kim and Rohini Sampoornam Swamina, UNICEF Climate and Environment Data Unit, Data & Analysis Section; Diana Estefania Ortiz Parra, UNICEF Office of Strategy and Evidence; Christiaan Weeren and Elizabeth Wabuge, UNICEF National Committee Relations. Communications, advocacy and publication support were provided by Nadia Samie-Jacobs, Helen Wylie, and Eric Zuehlke, UNICEF Division of Global Communications and Advocacy. The publication benefited from valuable review from Won Jung Byun and Xinxin Yu, UNESCO; Sergio Venegas Marin, the World Bank; Christian Stoff, Education Cannot Wait; Emma Gremley, International Rescue Committee; Charlie Habershon, Dalberg; Noam Angrist, What Works Hub for Global Education; Rocco Zizzamia, Oxford Department of Economics; Sarah Lane Smith, The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom.

© UNICEF/UNI705224/Piojo

International Rescue Committee; Charlie Habershon, Dalberg; Noam Angrist, What Works Hub for Global Education; Rocco Zizzamia, Oxford Department of Economics; Sarah Lane Smith, The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom.

© UNICEF/UNI705224/Piojo

2The world is grappling with two intertwined crises – environmental and educational – that reinforce each other. Right now, an estimated two-thirds of children around the world cannot read with comprehension by age 10.1 Climate change is causing some hazards and making others more frequent, intense and prolonged, further deepening the global learning crisis. From flooded classrooms to shuttered schools, climate shocks are closing the door on children’s learning around the world. UNICEF’s analysis on climate-related school disruptions finds that at least 171 million students worldwide had their learning interrupted due to climaterelated hazards in 2025. These disruptions, including school closures, significant interruption of school timetables or destruction of school infrastructure, were driven by droughts. The estimates presented in this study are conservative. Broadly, climate hazards can be classified into two typologies: shocks and stresses. Climate shocks are acute events that cause abrupt impacts, such as storms and floods. Climate stresses are longer-term hazards that impact systems, services, communities and individuals through sustained exposure, such as prolonged drought or extreme heat.2 While both types of hazards affect education systems, climate stresses are less likely to produce immediately observable consequences on children’s education. The current global estimates of climate-related school disruptions account mainly for climate shocks, since these tend to result in discrete, time-bound impacts that can be easily and systematically observed and recorded. In addition, the impact of climate-related school disruptions in crisis-affected countries is being undercounted, where conflict and fragility can abruptly challenge administrative reporting of school enrolment and attendance data.3 Schools may already be shuttered due to insecurity, while attacks on teachers, destruction of school facilities and intimidation of families make it difficult to isolate the effects of climate hazards on education. For the first time, the analysis suggests that

administrative reporting of school enrolment and attendance data.3 Schools may already be shuttered due to insecurity, while attacks on teachers, destruction of school facilities and intimidation of families make it difficult to isolate the effects of climate hazards on education. For the first time, the analysis suggests that the number of students affected by climate-related school disruptions in 2025 is underestimated by about 9 million in crisis-affected contexts. Executive Summary © UNICEF/UNI770681/Romani 3Children continue to pay the highest price for a crisis not of their making. Beyond missed school days and disruptions to their education, climate events can impact a child’s ability to learn, place them at increased risk of physical harm and take a toll on their mental health. Excessive heat, for example, may delay early childhood development, with particularly pronounced effects on foundational literacy and numeracy skills.4 Impacts which can last long after disaster strikes and schools resume. It also adds immense pressure on parents, caregivers and teachers. At the community level, schools damaged by climate hazards are often the same buildings communities rely on as shelters for displaced families, showing what’s lost goes well beyond learning. Climate hazards disrupt education more often than almost any other essential service. Yet it is rarely included in climate policy conversations, despite the critical role education can play in mitigation, adaptation, and responding to loss and damage. In too many contexts, schools and education systems simply are not prepared or equipped to protect students from the impacts of climate change, particularly in fragile and crisis contexts. Climate finance investments allocated to the education sector are starkly insufficient, remaining as low as 1.5 per cent.5 Meanwhile, steep global education funding cuts could force an estimated 6 million more children out of school by the end of 2026, 30 per cent of them in humanitarian settings.6 These pressures are converging at a time when extreme weather events are projected to rise in frequency and severity,7 placing more students at risk of dropping out and increasing the strain on already under-resourced education systems. For children, societies, and economies alike, climate-resilient education systems

are converging at a time when extreme weather events are projected to rise in frequency and severity,7 placing more students at risk of dropping out and increasing the strain on already under-resourced education systems. For children, societies, and economies alike, climate-resilient education systems deliver benefits that last for generations, while protecting learning from the growing impacts of climate change. As climate hazards become more frequent and intense, every effort must be made to ensure that schools and education systems can anticipate, withstand and recover from climate shocks. This means ensuring that school buildings are safe and resilient, ensuring learning continues when schooling is disrupted or schools must close, and equipping teachers to deliver climate education and teach about disaster risk reduction. Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2025 4Tracking climate-related school disruptions in 2025 Storms disrupted the schooling of approximately 109 million students. In 2025, storms were the most significant hazard to disrupt schooling worldwide. Tropical cyclones can cause extensive damage to school infrastructure and learning materials, force schools to serve as temporary shelters, displace students, families and teachers, and interrupt vital water and electricity services needed for school operations. Children exposed to tropical cyclones experience setbacks in their education, including a 2.5 per cent decrease in the likelihood of starting primary school, with girls disproportionately affected.8 In October, Hurricane Melissa severely disrupted the learning of more than 3.3 million children across the Caribbean, compounding pre-existing vulnerabilities and placing sustained pressure on education systems. Seven months after the hurricane made landfall in Jamaica, disruptions persisted as of June 2026, with more than 600 damaged primary and secondary schools and similarly hundreds of early childhood institutions, many still awaiting rehabilitation. Some students attended classes only two or three days per week on a rotational basis because classrooms remained unusable. Sand and dust storms, exacerbated by deforestation and agricultural expansion, expose children to toxic particles,

secondary schools and similarly hundreds of early childhood institutions, many still awaiting rehabilitation. Some students attended classes only two or three days per week on a rotational basis because classrooms remained unusable. Sand and dust storms, exacerbated by deforestation and agricultural expansion, expose children to toxic particles, pollutants, microbes and allergens carried through the air,9 threatening their well-being, school safety and continuity of learning. In April, Egypt’s Ministry of Education and Technical Education announced a holiday for all schools nationwide amid forecasts of severe weather brought by a powerful Khamsin storm, affecting more than 28 million students. Floods affected at least 70 million students in 2025, forcing schools to shut down due to unsafe conditions and flood damage. More than 28 million students in Pakistan were unable to return to school in August as scheduled due to monsoon floods delaying the end of the summer break. In October, Niger postponed the start of the 2025–2026 academic year by two weeks due to flooding, affecting 4 million students. This marked the second consecutive year of nationwide school disruptions caused by flooding: In October 2024, Niger delayed the re-opening of schools by nearly a month. Heatwaves caused school disruptions in at least 10 countries in 2025, putting learning on hold for about 50 million children. For the second year in a row, dangerously high temperatures in South Sudan caused students to collapse10 in classrooms and prompted nationwide school closures. Climate-related disruptions are placing South Sudan’s already strained education system under severe pressure: 2.8 million school-age children are out of school, more than half of schools lack safe classrooms, trained teachers, and water and sanitation facilities, and girls face heightened risks of dropping out due to insecurity, unsafe learning environments and child marriage. Nearly half of girls in the country are married before adulthood, while 65

children are out of school, more than half of schools lack safe classrooms, trained teachers, and water and sanitation facilities, and girls face heightened risks of dropping out due to insecurity, unsafe learning environments and child marriage. Nearly half of girls in the country are married before adulthood, while 65 per cent of girls and women aged 15–64 have experienced violence, making it particularly difficult for many to return to school after disruptions.11 While the consequences are most severe in fragile and crisis-affected contexts, extreme heat is disrupting education across diverse settings. Countries at higher latitudes are also exposed to severe heatwaves: in 2025, 1.5 million children across Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands experienced changes to school timetables or class suspensions. Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2025 5FIGURE 1 Number of students affected by climate-related school disruptions in 2025, by month Storm Heatwave Flood

JAN FEBDEC

MARNOV

APROCT

MAYSEP

JUNAUG JUL

4.4M 6.8M 6M 28.6M 0.11M 8.4M 18.3M 33.2M 4.5M 30.8M 11.3M 5.3M 171 million students affected Monitoring types of school disruptions Globally, 66 per cent of students affected by climate-related school disruptions in 2025 faced school closure. For other students, the return to the classroom took even longer: 21 per cent of students experienced delayed return to their classrooms because schools had been damaged or converted into shelters. Droughts may not trigger immediate school closures or be fully captured in monthly school disruption data, but their cumulative effects on attendance, enrolment and learning can deepen over time. In 2025, 2 million students either attended school less often or faced a heightened risk of dropping out as drought undermined household livelihoods, food

disruption data, but their cumulative effects on attendance, enrolment and learning can deepen over time. In 2025, 2 million students either attended school less often or faced a heightened risk of dropping out as drought undermined household livelihoods, food security and access to safe water. Multiple forms of school disruption can occur at the same time. In Malaysia, severe flooding during the Northeast Monsoon displaced children and families across multiple states, leading schools to shift to home-based teaching and learning. At the same time, many schools designated temporary evacuation centres were activated to support displaced Note: The 12-month total, when summed by month, does not sum to the 2025 total of 171 million because observations without a specified month are excluded from the monthly distribution. Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2025 6communities. While the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia written examinations proceeded as scheduled nationwide for more than 400,000 learners, students in flood-affected areas required additional support, including relocation and transport assistance where access routes became impassable. Beyond immediate disruptions to schooling, floods damaged school infrastructure and placed additional pressure on learning continuity and student well-being. Adjustments to the 2025 global climate-related school disruption estimates Conflict and fragility can abruptly challenge administrative reporting of school enrolment and attendance data. Schools may already be shuttered due to insecurity, while attacks on teachers, destruction or occupation of school facilities, and intimidation of children and families make it difficult to isolate the effects of climate hazards on education. In these settings, FIGURE 2 Number of students affected by climate-related school disruptions in 2025, by type of school disruption Note: The number of affected students, when summed across school disruption types, exceeds the 2025 global total of 171 million because a single event may result in multiple forms of school disruption. The global total removes duplicate counts of students affected by more than one disruption type from the same event.

by type of school disruption Note: The number of affected students, when summed across school disruption types, exceeds the 2025 global total of 171 million because a single event may result in multiple forms of school disruption. The global total removes duplicate counts of students affected by more than one disruption type from the same event. School closures Delay in the reopening of schools School infrastructure damage or converted to shelter Reduced school attendance or increased risk of dropout Changes in school timetables that result in shortened schooling hours Others School closures Delay in the reopening of schools School infrastructure damage or converted to shelter Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2025 7available evidence may describe children affected by conflict, displacement, climate hazards or multiple overlapping emergencies without distinguishing the contribution of each shock. As a result, climate-related school disruptions may be absent from administrative records or only partially reflected in the figures collected through the standardized methodology. To improve visibility in the short term, this analysis adopts a ‘top-down’ approach, while recognizing that a ‘bottom-up’ approach remains the long-term and structural solution. This distinction follows the general framework used by UNESCO to address undercounting in crisis-affected settings.12 The top-down approach supplements existing student-affected data with additional information, particularly evidence generated by humanitarian actors on where educational needs are greatest, who is being left behind, and the barriers preventing children from accessing and benefiting from education. In the longer term, the ‘bottom-up’ approach requires integrating climate within an ‘allhazards, all-risks’ approach13 to education data and ensuring that education-sector impact and response data are not neglected in humanitarian databases. The analysis suggests that, among countries where emergencies and crises had the greatest potential impact on education in 2025,14 the number of students affected by climate-related school disruptions is underestimated by approximately 9 million.15

The cost of inaction: projected lifetime earning

humanitarian databases. The analysis suggests that, among countries where emergencies and crises had the greatest potential impact on education in 2025,14 the number of students affected by climate-related school disruptions is underestimated by approximately 9 million.15

The cost of inaction: projected lifetime earning losses from 2025 climate-related school disruptions Applying 171 million students affected to the simulation model developed by Dalberg and UNICEF referencing World Bank studies,16 we estimated at least US$154z billion in 2017 PPP of future earning loss for the affected students in 2025, or around US$200 billion in 2025 current dollars. Without stronger action to avert, minimize and address these losses, countries risk a reinforcing cycle in which disrupted learning weakens human capital and future economic growth, constraining the resources available to strengthen education systems and prepare for future shocks.

© UNICEF/UNI821111/Amadou Diadie Samassekou Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2025 8Championing climate-resilient education UNICEF works with governments, communities and partners to strengthen climate-resilient education systems that protect children’s learning, strengthen climate-resilient schools, and equip children and young people with the knowledge, skills and agency needed to adapt to climate change and drive sustainable development. UNICEF’s climate resilient education portfolio is organized around four interconnected pillars that, together, support learning continuity, strengthen system resilience and position education as a catalyst for climate action. Each pillar has actionable interventions that can be tailored to unique country contexts. FIGURE 3 UNICEF climate-resilient education pyramid

INDIVIDUAL

LEVEL SYSTEM LEVEL • Green skills • Skills training through experiential learning • Non-formal skills development • Youth-led climate action • Climate and disaster-resilient school design, upgrades and/or retrofits • National standards for resilient construction • Renewable and resilient energy

INDIVIDUAL

LEVEL SYSTEM LEVEL • Green skills • Skills training through experiential learning • Non-formal skills development • Youth-led climate action • Climate and disaster-resilient school design, upgrades and/or retrofits • National standards for resilient construction • Renewable and resilient energy • Green spaces on school grounds • Sustainable school practices • Climate and disaster risk reduction in education curricula • Teacher training in climate change education and resilience • School vulnerability mapping and multi-hazard risk assessment • Emergency management plans and protocols • Education continuity and learning recovery • Community service learning • Education in climate and disaster risk reduction policies • Climate and disaster risk reduction in education policies • Climate-finance mobilization • Data, analysis and early warning systems • Coordination and partnership

POLICY,

PLANNING

AND FINANCE

CLIMATE RESILIENT

EDUCATIONAL

INFRASTRUCTURE

CLIMATE

RESILIENT

EDUCATION

SYSTEMS

GREEN SKILLS AND LEADERSHIP Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2025 9The four pillars provide a comprehensive approach to climate-resilient education. Policy, planning and financing create the enabling environment; resilient infrastructure and education systems protect learning and strengthen preparedness; while green skills and leadership empower children and young people to drive climate action and contribute to more resilient and sustainable societies. Creating the enabling environment for climate-resilient education by integrating education into climate and disaster risk reduction policies and strategies; embedding climate risk into education sector planning and financing; mobilizing climate finance; and strengthening data and evidence to inform decision-making. In Bangladesh, UNICEF supported development of Bangladesh’s first Climate Resilient Education Framework, as well as a vulnerability assessment tool and guidelines to assess the impact of climate change on education and strengthen disaster preparedness. PILLAR 1 POLICY, PLANNING AND FINANCE Creating safer, greener and more resilient learning environments through climateand disaster-resilient school design, upgrades and retrofits, national resilient construction

guidelines to assess the impact of climate change on education and strengthen disaster preparedness. PILLAR 1 POLICY, PLANNING AND FINANCE Creating safer, greener and more resilient learning environments through climateand disaster-resilient school design, upgrades and retrofits, national resilient construction standards, renewable energy systems, build-back-better reconstruction, green spaces and sustainable school practices. In Costa Rica, UNICEF supported the Comprehensive Safety and Risk Education Plan (SEGURED) to conduct 4,038 school diagnostics and develop 3,391 safety plans, strengthening safer learning for over one million students. SEGURED is now embedded in the Ministry of Education’s national monitoring system, enabling real-time reporting on areas including disaster preparedness.

PILLAR 2 CLIMATE-RESILIENT EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE

© UNICEF/UNI829054/Maung Nyan 10These pillars are already being translated into action across diverse country contexts. The examples below illustrate how UNICEF is supporting governments and partners to strengthen climate-resilient education around the world. This work brings together governments, civil society, communities, teachers and school leaders, children and young people, academia, the private sector, donors, and climate, humanitarian and development partners to co-create and scale context-specific solutions. UNICEF plays an active role in global climate policy processes, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP), to position education as both vulnerable to climate impacts and essential to Adaptation, Just Transition, Loss and Damage, Climate Finance and child-centred climate action. Building on recent COP outcomes recognizing the importance of children’s education under the Global Goal on Adaptation at COP28 and COP29, UNICEF is strengthening its advocacy and technical support to:

• Inform National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)

and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to integrate education; • Strengthen capacities of Ministries of Education through evidence generation,

COP29, UNICEF is strengthening its advocacy and technical support to:

• Inform National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)

and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to integrate education; • Strengthen capacities of Ministries of Education through evidence generation, cost-effective solutions for mainstreaming climate education, and development of climate-resilient infrastructure; and • Contribute expertise on the development of cross-cutting indicators related to children’s education under the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-Belém Work Programme. An overall key focus remains on elevating the voices of young people and teachers, ensuring that climate action plans reflect their needs and perspectives, with an emphasis on gender responsiveness and inclusivity for children with disabilities. Building on these experiences, UNICEF calls on governments and partners to accelerate action in five priority areas. Strengthening education systems to anticipate, absorb, adapt to and recover from climate shocks by integrating climate and disaster risk reduction across curricula, teaching, learning and assessment; building teacher capacity; conducting school vulnerability mapping; and establishing preparedness, response, recovery and continuity plans. In Iraq, UNICEF supported the development of Iraq’s Green School Building Guidelines, a national framework designed to ensure all schools are safe, energy-efficient, inclusive and climate-smart. PILLAR 3 CLIMATE-RESILIENT EDUCATION SYSTEMS Empowering children and young people with climate literacy, green skills, experiential learning opportunities, innovation pathways and student-led climate and disaster risk reduction initiatives, including skills linked to local climate risks and emerging green economies. PILLAR 4 GREEN SKILLS AND LEADERSHIP In Tanzania, UNICEF scaled climate change clubs to all secondary schools and over half of primary schools nationwide by the end of 2025, with 77 schools designated as model schools. Through the Reach Out to All (ROTA) programme, 9,865 adolescents developed leadership skills and community-based climate solutions. Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2025

over half of primary schools nationwide by the end of 2025, with 77 schools designated as model schools. Through the Reach Out to All (ROTA) programme, 9,865 adolescents developed leadership skills and community-based climate solutions. Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2025 11Protect children and safeguard their learning from climate disruption by integrating climate resilience across education systems; aligning education sector plans with Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans, national Loss and Damage strategy/response plans and wider development strategies; and strengthening preparedness, learning continuity and recovery. Increase and better target financing for climateresilient education by expanding national education budgets, scaling up international climate finance for education, prioritizing education within adaptation finance, and ensuring that loss and damage financing addresses the real impacts of climate hazards on learning, children’s development, education infrastructure, and the restoration of learning opportunities. Invest in safe, sustainable and climate-resilient schools and education systems by upgrading school infrastructure; integrating climate risk into education planning, policies, teacher development and service delivery; and embedding climate change education and disaster risk reduction across curricula, teaching and learning. Support children and young people as agents of climate action by equipping them with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to strengthen resilience in their schools, communities and future livelihoods. Strengthen climate and education data systems to systematically monitor climate-related learning disruptions and impacts, including school closures and school-level climate risks, and use this evidence to inform policy, early warning, risk-informed planning, anticipatory action, response to loss and damage and investment decisions. UNICEF is calling on governments and partners to: © UNICEF/UNI485924/Pouget The need to act has never been more urgent - but neither has the opportunity. As climate impacts intensify, education systems can become one of our most powerful tools for b