Heat waves threaten to steal up to 1.5 years of schooling

Children exposed early to extreme heat may lose up to 1.5 years of schooling, with climate change having a direct impact on education and threatening to undo educational gains of recent decades, according to a new global report.

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Climate-related stressors such as heat, wildfires, storms, floods, droughts, diseases, and rising sea levels affect education outcomes. Most low- and middle-income countries are experiencing climate-related school closures every year, increasing chances of learning loss and dropout, it noted.

The report, compiled by UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring team, Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education project, and the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, has pointed out that over the past 20 years, schools were closed in at least 75 percent of extreme weather events, impacting five million people or more.