TOKYO/NEW DELHI -- Over 400 million students worldwide have experienced school closures due to extreme weather like floods, storms and high temperatures since 2022, with impacts especially notable in South Asian countries, according to a recent analysis by the World Bank.
Because there are no concrete statistics tracking the frequency and severity of school closures due to climate change, the authors of the report, "Choosing Our Future: Education for Climate Action," compiled information on extreme weather events, school closures, and the number of students affected between January 2022 to June 2024. They estimated that at least 81 countries shut down schools temporarily due to extreme climate events, affecting a total of at least 404 million students.
