More than 171 million students, from preschool to the end of high school, will have their education interrupted in 2025 due to extreme weather events. It is the main conclusion of Learning Interrupted: Global Snapshot of Climate-Related School Disruptions in 2025, the new analysis by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), published a few weeks ago.
The study brings together data from 106 countries and territories. It documents school closures, damaged classrooms, lost instructional hours, drops in attendance and a higher risk of dropping out of school in climate-hit places.
big storms
Storms were the leading cause of school disruption in 2025, with 109 million students affected. They are followed by floods, which affected at least 70 million, and heat waves, which disrupted the classes of some 50 million boys and girls.
These extreme phenomena, derived from climate changecaused the suspension of classes, damage to schools, the transition to distance learning, the reduction of instruction time, lower school attendance and a greater risk of dropping out for millions of schoolchildren. And the threat is growing as El Niño is expected to increase the risk of extreme events in the coming months.
Although students at all income levels were affected by the disruptions, three-quarters of those affected live in low- and lower-middle-income countries, according to UNICEF, as education systems in those countries often lack the resources needed to safeguard learning during climate emergencies.
For example, in Pakistan, one of the most affected countries in the study, severe monsoon flooding delayed the return to school of more than 28 million students, marking one of the largest climate-related educational disruptions on record in 2025.
Similarly, in Egypt, a powerful Khamsin (wind and dust) storm caused the nationwide suspension of classes, also affecting more than 28 million students. Spain is also reflected in the report. More than 500,000 students in the Valencian Community saw their schooling altered due to storms.
Girls, the most vulnerable
Girls are more likely than boys to drop out of school when climate hazards disrupt or close schools, the report said. If schools and health facilities are damaged and families are displaced and lose income, girls have to take on additional caregiving and water collection responsibilities. The pressures to drop out of school are also increased by the risk of being forced into child marriage, which makes it very difficult for them to return to school once they reopen.
Long term consequences
As UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell points out. “For millions of children, climate hazards do more than disrupt lessons, destroying schools, uprooting families, and pushing the most vulnerable children, especially girls, out of the classroom forever.”
The consequences go beyond days without class. UNICEF estimates that if no action is taken, affected students in 2025 alone could collectively lose at least $200 billion in lifetime earnings. At a macroeconomic level, learning losses and higher dropout rates can reduce labor productivity, slow economic growth, and make it more difficult for countries to reduce poverty.
That’s why UNICEF is calling on governments around the world to invest more in climate-resilient education systems and infrastructure “to protect the education of children today and future generations,” in the words of Russell.
The report joins other alerts from the agency this year. In June, its Children’s Climate Risk Report 2026 estimated that some 1.1 billion children, almost half of the world’s children, are exposed to at least three climate threats at a time. In April, a study carried out with the consulting firm Dalberg for Eastern and Southern Africa estimated that every dollar invested in education can prevent losses of between $2 and $13.
With nearly one billion children living in countries at severe climate risk, UNICEF’s message is clear, protecting schools from the climate is also protecting the future of new generations.