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Explainer: how is climate change affecting schools around the world?
Lala* (11) and her family – including her father Baim* (34), mother Risqiqa* (32) and little brother Al* (3) – lost their home, belongings and business when flash floods tore through their village in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Baim says he cried with his wife as they walked through their old streets seeing the devastation caused by the disaster. Save the Children provided Lala’s family with a hygiene kit with supplies such as toothpaste, shampoo, soap, a bucket, towel, toothbrushes and sanitary pads – essential items needed for families to stay clean and healthy when they have lost everything. Lala received a back-to-school kit after she lost all her schoolbooks and stationery in the floods. Lala also attends Save the Children’s Child Friendly Space activities in the camp where she now lives. She participates in educational activities, as well as games, drawing and puppet shows. Lala says happy with the activities and that she’s learning new things. Baim says that after attending the Child Friendly Space, Lala has returned to her normal, cheerful self.

Explainer: how is climate change affecting schools around the world?

Climate Change and Education
Contributor March 24, 2026 · 2 min read

Climate change is having a profound effect on schools around the world, with increasing temperatures and flooding causing school closures around the world. In March 2024, South Sudan closed schools for its 2.2 million students, while Bangladesh repeatedly shut schools due to record-setting temperatures, affecting 33 million students.

In 2024, at least 242 million students in 85 countries had their education disrupted by extreme climate events including heatwaves, floods and storms.

Extreme weather caused by climate change can also destroy school infrastructure. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines and destroyed more than 90 per cent of schools in the central municipality of Concepcion.

Even when schools remain open, climate change can affect the ability to learn, with high temperatures impact students’ ability to concentrate, retain, and process information, leading to lower academic performance.

Globally, climate-change-related extreme weather events disrupt the schooling of nearly 40 million children each year due to climate-related disasters and subsequent disease outbreaks. This disruption is particularly severe for vulnerable groups, including children living in conflict zones, those from the poorest households, girls, and children with disabilities. For these children, climate change exacerbates the risk of not receiving the quality education needed to escape the cycle of poverty.

Read more here.