Bhubaneswar: The impact of climate change has not just led to intense natural calamities like wildfires and floods but also spilled over to the domain of other social processes like education and loss of learning among human beings. According to the Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM), climate related stressors like droughts, rising sea levels and diseases are affecting education outcomes and even posing potential threats to undo the progress made in the last 10 years.

The report has pointed out that most low and middle-income countries are experiencing climate-related school closures every year, which has led to increasing chances of learning loss and dropout. It noted that a child who experienced temperatures that are two standard deviations above average is predicted to attain 1.5 fewer years of schooling than children experiencing average temperatures.

The report stated that the direct impact of climate change is putting the educational infrastructure at peril through injuries, loss of life, displacements due to intense weather events, etc. "Over the past 20 years, five million people or more were impacted due to closure of schools in over 75 per cent of extreme weather events. Frequent floods and cyclones have led to the deaths of students and teachers and have destroyed schools," it read.

An analysis linking census and climate data in 29 countries between 1969 and 2012, showed that exposure to higher than average temperatures during the prenatal and early life period led to fewer years of schooling particuarly in Southeast Asia, the report added.

"The effects were more severe for boys and children of parents with a lower educational attainment. An analysis of disasters experienced early in life by over 140,000 children in seven Asian countries found a negative association with school enrolment, especially for boys, and with mathematics performance, especially for girls, by the time they reach 13 to 14 years," it said.

Assessing the impact in India, the study found that rainfall shocks over the first 15 years of life negatively impacted vocabulary at age five and mathematics and non-cognitive skills at age 15.

Marginalized populations tended to display a higher level of climate-induced vulnerability. Of the 10 countries most affected by extreme weather events in 2019, eight were low or lower-middle-income countries. Of the 33 countries identified as bearing extremely high climate risks for children, where nearly one billion people live, 29 are also considered to be fragile states, the report indicated.

Lack of awareness too plays a crucial role. "In a recent survey of 94 education policy makers in 28 low and middle-income countries, only about half believed that hotter temperatures inhibited learning and about 61 per cent viewed climate change among the bottom three out of 10 priorities in education," it said.

Increased chances of displacement, migration and lack of financial resources are some of the biggest factors that have led to climate-related disruptions in schooling of children. The study pointed out that in 2022, 32.6 million were internally displaced due to disasters.

Analysis of five countries – Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Tuvalu and Vietnam – finds five displacement patterns: temporary displacement, permanent migration to urban settlements, government-planned relocation, cross-border migration and trapped populations. These displacement scenarios lead to different barriers to education, related to a lack of financial resources, documentation or residency requirements," it said.

To deal with direct and indirect effects of climate change-induced disruptions, a comprehensive focus is needed on climate adaptation. This includes multi-sectoral planning, curriculum reform, teacher training and community awareness and engagement, it said adding that schools must also be equipped to absorb climate shocks.