UNICEF: Extreme weather kept 242 million children out of school last year
At least 242 million children in 85 countries had their schooling interrupted last year because of heat waves, cyclones, flooding and other extreme weather, the United Nations Children's Fund said in a new report Friday.
UNICEF said it amounted to one in seven school-going children across the world being kept out of class at some point in 2024 because of climate hazards.
The report also outlined how some countries saw hundreds of their schools destroyed by weather, with low-income nations in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa hit especially hard.
But other regions weren't spared the extreme weather, as torrential rains and floods in Italy near the end of the year disrupted school for more than 900,000 children. Thousands had their classes halted after catastrophic flooding in Spain.
While southern Europe dealt with deadly floods and Asia and Africa had flooding and cyclones, heatwaves were "the predominant climate hazard shuttering schools last year," UNICEF said, as the earth recorded its hottest year ever.
More than 118 million children had their schooling interrupted in April alone, UNICEF said, as large parts of the Middle East and Asia, from Gaza in the west to the Philippines in the southeast, experienced a sizzling weekslong heat wave with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius.
"Children are more vulnerable to the impacts of weather-related crises, including stronger and more frequent heat waves, storms, droughts and flooding," UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said in a statement. "Children's bodies are uniquely vulnerable. They heat up faster, they sweat less efficiently and cool down more slowly than adults. Children cannot concentrate in classrooms that offer no respite from sweltering heat, and they cannot get to school if the path is flooded, or if schools are washed away."
Around 74% of the children affected in 2024 were in middle- and low-income countries, showing how climatic extremes continue to have a devastating impact in the poorest countries. Flooding ruined more than 400 schools in Pakistan in April. Afghanistan had heatwaves followed by severe flooding that destroyed over 110 schools in May, UNICEF said.
Months of drought in southern Africa exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon threatened the schooling and futures of millions of children.
And the crises showed little sign of abating. The poor French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean off Africa was left in ruins by Cyclone Chido in December and hit again by Tropical Storm Dikeledi this month, leaving children across the islands out of school for six weeks.
Cyclone Chido also destroyed more than 330 schools and three regional education departments in Mozambique on the African mainland, where access to education is already a deep problem.
UNICEF said the world's schools and education systems "are largely ill-equipped" to deal with the effects of extreme weather.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Voice of America
13-03-2025
- Voice of America
Cyclone Jude batters Malawi, Mozambique; no deaths reported
Tropical Cyclone Jude slammed into parts of southern Africa this week, causing no deaths but leaving widespread damage, especially in Malawi and Mozambique. Officials in the two countries said thousands of people were homeless and some areas were without power. Aid agencies distributed relief where they could, but washed-away roads made the task difficult. The storm made landfall in northern Mozambique early Sunday and moved over southern Malawi, resulting in heavy rains affecting 13 districts from Monday to Wednesday. A preliminary assessment from Malawi's Department of Disaster Management Affairs released Thursday showed that the cyclone had so far affected more than 11,000 people. This means their crops were washed away or their houses and property were either destroyed or submerged by floods. The assessment said the cyclone displaced more than 3,000 people, who are now sheltered in six evacuation camps. No deaths were recorded, but the disaster management department said collapsing buildings injured 15 people, including 5- and 8-year-old boys. 'The 5-year-old is receiving medical attention at Queen Elizabeth Central, and the 8-year-old is admitted as well and is at Mwanza District Hospital following the collapsing of a wall of a house,' said disaster management department spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula. He said rescuers were still looking for three people who went missing Tuesday in Nsanje and Phalombe districts after their boat capsized on a flooded river. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that in Mozambique, relief operations were severely hampered by lack of access to thousands of people in Nampula province, where main roads, bridges and culverts were washed away. The United Nations agency said moving relief items and personnel from Cabo Delgado province to Nampula was also difficult because the storm cut off the N1 national highway. In Malawi, international aid agencies and the government were able to start relief operations in accessible areas. For example, the World Food Program on Thursday distributed some relief items to affected people in Mulanje district. Simon Denhere, WFP's acting country director in Malawi, said, 'With support from the UK government, WFP and the Department of Management Affairs have prepositioned food supplies, emergency kits and operational equipment, including search and rescue boats, to enable rapid response.' Lucy Mtilatila, director of Malawi's Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, told VOA that Cyclone Jude had moved from Malawi to Mozambique, where it was expected to dissipate. 'Right now, the threat of the cyclone is almost over.' she said, adding that floods were still a concern, although "the impact that could come with rains that we are getting now will be very minimal.' Jude is the third cyclone to affect Mozambique in the past three months, following Cyclones Chido in December and Dikeledi in January. Malawi avoided a hit from Dikeledi but was struck by Chido in December.
Voice of America
02-03-2025
- Voice of America
8 dead in India avalanche as rescue operation ends
Rescuers recovered the eighth and final body from the site of an avalanche in a remote area of northern India, the army said Sunday, marking the end of a marathon operation in sub-zero temperatures. More than 50 workers were submerged under snow and debris after the avalanche hit a construction camp Friday near Mana village on the border with Tibet in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Authorities had revised down the number of workers on site at the time of the avalanche from 55 to 54 after one worker, previously believed to be buried, was found to have safely made his way home before the avalanche hit. The army used a drone-based detection system to assist in its search operations. Multiple drones and a rescue dog were also employed. Construction worker Anil, who only gave his first name, recalled his rescue hours after being buried by the avalanche. "It was if God's angels had come to save us," Anil, who is in his late 20s, told AFP on Sunday by phone from his hospital bed. "The way we were engulfed in snow, we had no hope of surviving." Being alive now felt "like a dream," he said. Not all made it Working on a project by the Border Roads Organization, the workers were living on site in steel containers considered stronger than tents and capable of withstanding harsh weather. Anil said many workers were fast asleep and a few others were in makeshift toilets when the avalanche struck around 6 a.m. local time Friday. As the ground beneath them shook, the container in which Anil and his colleagues were in began to slide down. "At first we did not understand what was happening but when we looked out of the window of the containers, we saw piles of snow all around," he said. "The roof of the containers was also slowly bending inwards." Everyone started screaming for help and a few men were lucky to get out of their containers. "But not all of them made it out and they remained trapped," he said. Like thunder His colleague Vipan Kumar thought "this was the end" when he found himself unable to move as he struggled for air under the thick layer of snow. "I heard a loud roar, like thunder ... before I could react, everything went dark," he told the Times of India newspaper. At an altitude of more than 3,200 meters (10,500 feet), minimum temperatures in the area were down to minus 12 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit). Dhan Singh Bisht said his son and nephew were alive only because of the prompt action by the relief teams. "I am grateful to them," an overwhelmed Bisht told AFP by phone Saturday. Avalanches and landslides are common in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, especially during the winter season. Scientists say climate change is making weather events more severe, while the increased pace of development in the fragile Himalayan regions has also heightened fears about the fallout from deforestation and construction. In 2021, nearly 100 people died in Uttarakhand after a huge glacier chunk fell into a river, triggering flash floods. And devastating monsoon floods and landslides in 2013 killed 6,000 people and led to calls for a review of development projects in the state.
Voice of America
28-02-2025
- Voice of America
Cyclone Garance hits island of Reunion; police report 3 deaths
French police said at least three people were killed when a tropical storm packing fierce winds and torrential rains thumped the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion on Friday. Residents were ordered to stay at home as Tropical Cyclone Garance brought heavy rain and winds exceeding 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph), causing floods, power cuts and damage to buildings. France's national police force confirmed three fatalities but said it had no details about the circumstances. Authorities said 847 people sought refuge in emergency shelters and 54 were evacuated due to the risk of flooding or landslides. About 182,000 people were without power and 171,000 lost access to drinking water, the authorities said. Officials said strong winds ripped off roofs, doors, and windows of many buildings. Tarpaulins were being sent to the hardest-hit areas to provide shelter in the eastern part of the island. Authorities lifted the purple cyclone warning, the highest level, Friday morning, allowing rescue services to begin operations. However, the island remained under a red warning, with residents requested to stay indoors as heavy rain and strong winds were expected to persist throughout the day. National weather agency Meteo France said winds reaching 214 kilometers per hour (133 mph) were recorded at the island's main airport. Reunion island is located about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) to the southeast of the French territory of Mayotte, an island group off Africa, which was hit in December by the worst cyclone in nearly a century, with widespread devastation left in its wake. Local authorities have confirmed 40 deaths from Cyclone Chido's landfall and 41 people missing or believed to have been buried, but fear more may be dead.
