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At least 404 million students globally have been affected by climate-related school closures between January 2022 and June 2024, with 81 countries temporarily shutting down schools due to floods, storms, and heatwaves, a World Bank report has indicated.
The report highlighted that those disruptions remained largely invisible as they were not being tracked by the relevant authorities.
The severe impact of flooding has been a persistent issue, with recent events in Nigeria displacing nearly two million people and causing students to miss 53 school days.
The report emphasises that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, which are disrupting schooling and leading to learning losses and dropouts.
The report stated that "education can advance climate action, but at the same time climate change is hindering education.
"Climate change is increasing the frequency, intensity, and likelihood of extreme weather events, including hurricanes, floods, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires.
"These extreme weather events are increasingly disrupting school day-to-day activities, leading to learning loss and dropouts.
"Climate change is causing large-scale school closures. These disruptions remain untracked and therefore invisible."
The World Bank said there was no official data on the frequency and severity of school closures due to extreme weather hence the crisis had remained largely unnoticed.
It said, "The report's new analysis finds that over the past 20 years, schools were closed during at least 75 per cent of climate-related extreme weather events that affected more than 5 million people.
"What is most worrying is that the frequency and severity of school closures due to climate change continue to increase.
"Between January 2022 and June 2024, an estimated 404 million students were affected by school closures due to extreme weather. This is due to school closures caused by floods, storms and heatwaves in at least 81 countries.
"The report also states that schools can adapt and minimise learning losses for less than $20 per student.
"Climate change-related school closures mean students are losing days of learning. Even if schools are open, rising temperatures will prevent students from learning.
"Governments can take action to harness education and learning for climate action, for example by improving foundational knowledge and STEM skills, mainstreaming climate education and expanding teacher capacity.
"Governments can also prioritise green skills and innovation in higher education to accelerate the transition to more sustainable practices.
"Despite their frequency, climate-related school closures remain invisible because no one tracks them. At the same time, climate change poses enormous threats to education. Millions of young people face learning loss due to climate-related events, with the situation even worse in low-income countries.
"If this learning loss is not replaced, it will have a negative impact on future earnings and productivity. It will also contribute to increasing inequalities within and between countries.
"The economic losses and human costs of climate change are enormous. Despite this, progress in climate protection is slow due to a lack of information, skills shortages and knowledge gaps."
The report indicated that education is key to closing those gaps and driving climate action around the world.
It further said that education is the best indicator of climate-friendly behaviour, noting that better educated people are more resilient and are essential to driving innovation and climate solutions.
The report also highlighted the importance of education in climate awareness, indicating that one additional year of education increases climate awareness by 8.6 per cent.
"Education not only equips young people with green skills for new jobs, but also broadens their skills for existing jobs. Education has been largely ignored in climate finance, and climate change threatens educational outcomes," it said.
The report added that the green skills policymakers and students needs are broad and include technical, STEM and industry-specific skills, as well as non-technical, socio-emotional and cross-sectoral skills.
It further stated that with the right skills, any job, any sector could be made greener.
These skills are needed not just for "new" jobs but also to expand existing jobs as "demand for these skills can be unpredictable and inequitable," the report stated.
