DHAKA, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Severe weather events disrupted education for children around the world, including 33 million children in Bangladesh in 2024, according to an analysis released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The report, "Learning Interrupted: Global Snapshot of Climate-Related School Disruptions in 2024," published here Friday, is the first of its kind, and reveals that heatwaves, cyclones, floods, and other extreme weather events led to multiple rounds of school closures around the world.
Globally, at least 247 million students in 77 countries had their schooling disrupted by heatwaves, tropical storms, floods and droughts in 2024. South Asia was the most affected region.
In Bangladesh, nationwide heatwaves in April and May 2024 left children at risk of dehydration and heatstroke, forcing schools to close across the whole country for up to two weeks, and several districts went on to suffer subsequent school disruption due to cyclone Remal, followed by intense flooding in June. Up to 18.4 million people were impacted by the floods countrywide, including 7 million children.
"The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, exacerbated by the climate crisis, is having a knock-on effect on children's education in Bangladesh and depriving children of their right to learn," said Rana Flowers, UNICEF representative to Bangladesh.
"Extreme temperatures and other climate hazards don't only damage schools, they can affect students' concentration, memory and mental and physical health," she said, adding that prolonged school closures increase the chance of children, especially adolescent girls, dropping out of school and being married off by families to cope with economic stress.
According to the UNICEF Children's Climate Risk Index, children in Bangladesh are already among the most exposed and vulnerable in the world to climate and environmental hazards. ■
