The short answer is: Yes. It is becoming more and more evident every year how extreme weather events and rising temperatures are increasingly disrupting education cycles, leaving millions of children without access to school, stunting their intellectual growth and their ability to compete with their peers globally.
For example, the 2022 Sylhet floods -- these floods began in May and lasted until the end of June and left 1.5 million children without access to their educational institutions for six months, according to Unicef. Although the rains only lasted about six weeks, waterlogging remained. Furthermore, as some schools were being used as shelters, children couldn’t go back to school for nearly half the academic year. This is not an isolated event -- it is part of a troubling global pattern giving rise to more frequent extreme weather events.
In Bangladesh, between 1971 and 2022, the average temperature has increased by 0.16 degrees Celsius. These rising temperatures have led to recurrent heatwaves and floods. In June 2023, the government was forced to shut down primary and secondary schools across the country due to a relentless heatwave. Bangladesh’s 33 million schoolchildren -- out of a total of 54 million -- suffered significant learning loss. Because of this
This year, schools remained closed for weeks and, even after reopening, children returned to classrooms in the middle of another heatwave; while the closures were an extension of the Eid holidays, leading to prolonged disruption in education continuity. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department reported temperatures above 38 degrees Celsius for 24 consecutive days in April this year, followed by another, milder heatwave. This recurrent cycle of heat is a growing threat to education in Bangladesh.
But the problem isn’t limited to Bangladesh. Over one billion of the world's 2.4 billion children -- live in countries highly susceptible to climate change. Among them, those that are already affected by poverty and inequality are even more vulnerable. According to Save the Children, one-third of the world’s children live with the dual burden of poverty and high climate risk. Children in these regions face compounding challenges that hinder their ability to learn and thrive.
The effects of climate change on education are not well documented, but attempts have been made to quantify learning loss due to climate change. A study from the Harvard Kennedy School entitled “When the heat is on, student learning suffers” shows that heat exposure during school days directly affects academic performance: "We show that only school-day exposure to higher temperatures affects test scores; hot summers and weekends have little impact on achievement,” the authors note. The study suggests that heat disrupts instruction time or the ability to complete homework, leading to a significant drop in test scores. On average, for each additional degree Fahrenheit in temperature, students' performance fell by the equivalent of 1% of a year's worth of learning. One percent may not seem like much, but, compounded over years and increasing impacts from climate change, the ability of our country's youth to compete academically with others is compromised.
Globally, over 1.3 billion children live in countries highly vulnerable to climate disasters. These countries also tend to have lower learning outcomes
Disruptions in education, whether caused by climate change or other crises like the Covid-19 pandemic also have lasting impacts on child development. School closures affect children of different ages in different ways: High school and university students can often adapt to remote learning and may even benefit from digital tools that enhance understanding of certain concepts. But younger children, especially those in primary or pre-primary school, are more vulnerable to learning loss during these closures, not to mention the added responsibilities on their parents and guardians because studying always requires some encouragement and supervision from guardians.
A survey conducted in 2020 found that only 5% of primary school students in Bangladesh used online remote learning materials, this illustrates major limitations in educational access. Pre-primary students, the least likely to have access to digital learning tools, are at the greatest risk of severe learning loss, particularly in developing basic numeracy and literacy. These early setbacks can have long-term consequences, putting children at a disadvantage in their academic futures and beyond.
In addition to learning disruptions, climate change also creates a range of other challenges. It causes more extreme weather events, making them more frequent and intense, this in turn leads to prolonged school closures, population displacement, and economic hardship. Families struggling to recover from climate shocks may find it harder to invest in their children’s education, and often deprioritize returning to school in their disaster recovery plans. Rising temperatures are also linked to increased risks of violence and conflict, further destabilizing communities and deepening educational inequities.
Globally, over 1.3 billion children live in countries highly vulnerable to climate disasters. These countries also tend to have lower learning outcomes, meaning that children that are already at an educational disadvantage face even greater hurdles due to the impacts of climate change, and this trend is predicted to rise as global action to combat climate change is below par. More needs to be done to ensure that schools take measures to reduce the heat exposure of children, prepare educators and children to ensure continuity in learning despite school closures, increase remote and digital learning opportunities and tools, as well as encourage communal neighborhood and community learning practices.
The connection between climate change and education is a growing crisis. Brief disruptions in schooling are becoming more frequent due to climate-induced disasters & changes in weather patterns, can have lasting consequences on children’s learning, well-being, and future opportunities. We need to urgently address this issue to protect the next generation from being disadvantaged by climate change. The question is not just whether climate change is making us dumber, but whether we’re doing enough to stop it from robbing children of their right to learn and disadvantaging Bangladesh’s greatest asset, our youth.
Nauman Haque is an expert in adaptation, with over 12 years of experience across South Asia and Africa. He currently serves as the Senior Advisor for Climate Change at Save the Children International and the CEO of Mrittika. He can be reached at [email protected].
