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STORY: UNICEF / CLIMATE CRISES SCHOOLING DISRUPTED
TRT: 06:09
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 18 JULY 2022, GAYAN DISTRICT, PAKTIKA PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN / 03 DECEMBER 2023, KARNAIL VILLAGE, HERAT PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN / 24 AUGUST 2024, KHAGRACHORI, BANGLADESH / 24 AUGUST 2024, FENI AND NOAKHALI, BANGLADESH / 15-19 JULY 2024, VANUATU / 24 DECEMBER 2024, WAISISI, ERAKOR VILLAGE, VANUATU / SEPTEMBER 2022, QUETTA, PAKISTAN /UNDATED, NIGERIA / UNDATED, PAKISTAN / UNDATED, MOZAMBIQUE
18 JULY 2022, GAYAN DISTRICT, PAKTIKA PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN
1. Wide shot, father and son standing in front of damaged buildings after 5.9 magnitude earthquake
2. Wide shot, gates of damaged Gayan Central High School
3. Tilt down, from open sky to blackboard
4. Wide shot, pull focus from wall to whiteboard in classroom
03 DECEMBER 2023, KARNAIL VILLAGE, HERAT PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN
5. Wide shot, health facility building which was destroyed by the earthquake
6. Wide shot, health facility building which was destroyed by the earthquake
7. Med shot, children in temporary learning centre.
8. Med shot, children in temporary learning centre
9. Med shot, children in temporary learning centre
24 AUGUST 2024, KHAGRACHORI, BANGLADESH
10. Aerial shot, flooding
24 AUGUST 2024, FENI AND NOAKHALI, BANGLADESH
11. Wide shot, people using banana tree rafts and walking through in floodwaters
12. Wide shot, people navigating floodwaters.
13. Wide shot, people navigating floodwaters.
14. Wide shot, people navigating floodwaters.
15. Wide shot, people navigating floodwaters.
16. Wide shot, people navigating floodwaters.
15-19 JULY 2024, VANUATU
17. Wide shot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell talking to headteacher Rossie in primary school destroyed by twin cyclones
18. Wide shot, Russell talking to headteacher Rossie in primary school destroyed by twin cyclones
19. Med shot, Russell with children outside in temporary learning space
24 DECEMBER 2024, WAISISI, ERAKOR VILLAGE, VANUATU
20. Wide shot, facilitators from UNICEF partner Vanuatu Football Federation, along with UNICEF Vanuatu Child Protection Officer Rebecca after earthquake
21. Wide shot, children engaging in various interactive games
22. Med shot, programme facilitators speaking
23. Med shot, programme facilitators speaking
SEPTEMBER 2022, QUETTA, PAKISTAN
24. Med shot, child inside school damaged by floods
25. Wide shot, classroom interior damaged by floods
26. Wide shot, damaged buildings
27. Wide shot, Sehrish Nagi, UNICEF Education Officer in Quetta looks at damaged schools
28. Wide shot, exterior damaged school building
29. Wide shot, classroom interior damaged by floods
30. Wide shot, Temporary Learning Centre (TLC) set up by UNICEF and the Government of Balochistan province for families displaced by flooding
31. Wide shot, children at Temporary Learning Centre
32. Med shot, children at Temporary Learning Centre
33. SOUNDBITE (English) Sehrish Nagi, Education Officer, UNICEF:
“Assalam -o- alaikum. As you can see, right now I'm standing in Government Boys High School, Urak. The total strength of this school was 380 before floods. When the floods came, the building of this school totally collapsed, and it is not usable anymore. Here, there are 380 students, for whom we have established a temporary learning centre, set up five classes here so that these students can come here, in a healthy environment, conducive environment, study and continue their educational activities. Thank you very much.”
UNDATED, NIGERIA
34. Med shot, young boys face drips with sweat in a classroom
35. Med shot, boy in classroom struggles with the heat
36. Med shot, boy shields his face from the sun outside
37. Med shot, boy tries to study while sweating
38. Med shot, boy stands in direct sun
39. Med shot, girl in classroom fans herself to stay cool
UNDATED, PAKISTAN
40. Med shot, dust blows past a school destroyed by flooding
41. Med shot, interior of a classroom in a school destroyed by flooding
42. Med shot, mud covers the floor of a classroom in a school destroyed by flooding
43. Wide shot, the interior of a classroom in a school destroyed by flooding
44. Med shot, young student walks down the hallway of a school that was destroyed by flooding
45. Med shot, portrait of a young student at the entrance of a school that was destroyed by flooding
UNDATED, MOZAMBIQUE
26. Aerial shot, flooding from a tropical storm
46. Wide shot, children stand in the classroom of school that was flooded and the roof destroyed by the winds of a tropical storm
At least 242 million students in 85 countries had their schooling disrupted by extreme climate events in 2024, including heatwaves, tropical cyclones, storms, floods, and droughts, exacerbating an existing learning crisis, according to a new UNICEF analysis released today (24 Jan).
For the first time, Learning Interrupted: Global Snapshot of Climate-Related School Disruptions in 2024 – released on International Day of Education – examines climate hazards that resulted in either school closures or the significant interruption of school timetables, and the subsequent impact on children from pre-primary to upper secondary level.
Heatwaves were the predominant climate hazard shuttering schools last year, with over 118 million students affected in April alone, according to the data. Bangladesh and the Philippines experienced widespread school closures in April, while Cambodia shortened the school day by two hours. In May, temperatures spiked to 47 degrees Centigrade/116 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of South Asia, placing children at risk of heat stroke.
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Some countries experienced multiple climate hazards. For example, in Afghanistan, in addition to heatwaves, the country experienced severe flash floods that damaged or destroyed over 110 schools in May, disrupting education for thousands of students.
Meanwhile, the most frequent climate-induced disruptions occurred in September - the start of the school year in many parts of the world. At least 16 countries suspended classes at this critical academic point due to extreme weather events, including Typhoon Yagi, which impacted 16 million children in East Asia and the Pacific.
According to the analysis, South Asia was the most affected region with 128 million students facing climate-related school disruptions last year, while in East Asia and the Pacific, 50 million students’ schooling was affected. El Niño continued to have a devastating impact on Africa, with frequent heavy rainfall and floods in East Africa, and severe drought in parts of Southern Africa.
Rising temperatures, storms, floods, and other climate hazards can damage school infrastructure and supplies, hamper routes to school, lead to unsafe learning conditions, and impact students’ concentration, memory, and mental and physical health.
In fragile contexts, prolonged school closures make it less likely for students to return to the classroom and place them at heightened risk of child marriage and child labour. Evidence shows that girls are often disproportionately affected, facing increased risks of dropping out of school and gender-based violence during and after disasters.
Globally, education systems were already failing millions of children. A lack of trained teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and differences in the quality of – and access to – education have long been creating a learning crisis that climate hazards are exacerbating.
The analysis shows almost 74 percent of affected students last year were in low and lower-middle income countries, but no region was spared. Torrential rains and floods hit Italy in September, disrupting schooling for over 900,000 students as well as Spain in October, halting classes for 13,000 children.
The report notes that schools and education systems are largely ill-equipped to protect students from these impacts, as climate-centred finance investments in education remain strikingly low, and global data on school disruptions due to climate hazards is limited.
UNICEF works with governments and partners to support the modification and construction of climate-resilient classrooms to protect children from severe weather. In Mozambique, for example, children are being repeatedly impacted by cyclones, with the country hit by Cyclone Chido and Cyclone Dikeledi in the past two months alone, affecting 150,000 students. In response, UNICEF has supported the building of over 1,150 climate-resilient classrooms in nearly 230 schools in the country.
In November, UNICEF warned in its State of the World’s Children report that climate crises are expected to become more widespread between 2050 - 2059, with eight times as many children exposed to extreme heatwaves, and three times as many exposed to extreme river floods, compared to the 2000s.
UNICEF is calling on world leaders and the private sector to act urgently to protect children from increasing climate impacts by ensuring national climate plans including Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans; strengthen child-critical social services, such as education, to be more climate smart and disaster resilient, and contain adequate emission reduction pledges to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
