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Heatwaves Disrupt Education For 5 Crore Indian Students

Education

Heatwaves Disrupt Education For 5 Crore Indian Students

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The increasing severity of climate change is reshaping the world in alarming ways, with one of its gravest impacts being on education. A recent UNICEF report, titled Learning Interrupted: Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2024, has brought attention to the devastating consequences of extreme weather events on students worldwide. This is based on a recent report pointing that around 242 million students across 85 countries experienced disruptions in their schooling last year, primarily due to climate-related disasters, which made 2024 a tough year for global education.

India, branded “extremely vulnerable” to climate change, had massive disruptions, especially from heatwaves. Over 5 crore (50 million) Indian students were directly hit by the worst heatwaves across the country last year, according to the report. UNICEF ranks India 26th of 163 countries on the UNICEF Children’s Climate Risk Index, representing the level of climate risk children are exposed to in each country. This calls for urgent efforts in addressing the increasing educational crisis caused by climate change.

It’s a crisis in huge proportions. Climate hazards, including heatwaves, floods, tropical cyclones, storms, and droughts, forced school closures in at least 20 countries in 2024. Of the 242 million affected students, 74% live in low- and lower-middle-income countries—regions that are disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of climate change. These countries, having an average CCRI score of 7 out of 10, lack infrastructure and resources in order to respond to such issues.

Africa suffered from a devastating education crisis from climate hazards. More than 107 million children in the continent dropped out of school last year, and another 20 million are still at risk of doing the same. South Asia, too, suffered significantly, with the highest numbers of countries most affected. South Asia experienced around 128 million students in disruption to education with heatwaves being the predominant climate hazard. The worst-hit countries include India, Bangladesh, and Cambodia.

The report shows that climate-related school closures happened most frequently during the months of April and September. April is characterized by high levels of heatwaves in regions such as India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Thailand, which would affect the learning of at least 118 million children. September received the highest numbers of climate-related disruptions overall since it had school closures in at least 18 countries due to extreme weather.

Heatwaves, emerging as the biggest climatic risk event of 2024, halted the education process of approximately 171 million children worldwide. Schools in India had to shut down operations due to this intense heat. This proved very challenging for all students, parents, and teachers since it was interfering with the overall academic calendar in addition to compromising the health of children, therefore making them disinterested in reading. This impact will extend well beyond the short-term loss in educational gains but can also erode the prospects for millions of children over the longer term.

The impact of climate-induced school disruptions is most acutely felt in low-income communities, where access to education is already limited. For many children in these regions, schools serve as critical safe spaces that provide not only learning opportunities but also essential services such as meals and clean drinking water. When climate disasters force school closures, children from vulnerable backgrounds are left without these vital resources, pushing them further into cycles of poverty and inequality.

UNICEF’s report presents a grim scenario of the growing intersection between climate change and education. It underscores that climate shocks are not isolated events but part of a broader trend of escalating disruptions that jeopardize children’s futures. The findings call for urgent, coordinated action from governments, policymakers, and international organizations to mitigate the impact of climate change on education systems.

School infrastructure must be made stronger to support extreme weather conditions; climate resilience must be integrated into education policies; emergencies must provide learners with alternative learning options, such as digital or community-based education; and targeted support needs to be given to vulnerable regions such as South Asia and Africa so the most affected children are not left behind.

In education disruption, one must see it in the greater context of the human cost that is the climate crisis. India’s socio-economic development through education forms a pathway of development that climate-induced school closure needs to address at a priority level. The inability to act can pose a danger to the futures of millions of children and threaten entire nations to forego a future of sustainable equality.

With climate change impacts spiraling out of control, this UNICEF report is an alarm to take note of how deep the restructuring of global education in response to climate hazards goes. It is an appeal to governments, communities, and individuals to give children priority education and guarantee future generations their chances to prosper in a changing world.

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