GNV News, September 13, 2026

Schools are places where children gain knowledge and broaden their future possibilities. However, school education around the world is currently being disrupted by climate-related disasters, armed conflicts, and other crises.
Moreover, these crises do not necessarily occur one at a time. When climate disasters, conflicts, and other crises overlap, it becomes even more difficult to continue education.

In September 2026, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a report stating that in 2025, more than 171 million students worldwide—about 1 in 10—had their schooling interrupted by climate-related disasters. The report covers 106 countries and territories, and reveals that storms, floods, heatwaves, droughts, and fires led to class cancellations, damage to school facilities, reduced teaching hours, lower attendance, and shifts to remote learning. Among these, the impact of storms was the greatest, affecting about 109 million students in 2025. At least 70 million students saw their education disrupted by floods, and about 50 million by heatwaves. Furthermore, about 75% of affected students live in low- and middle-income countries. In other words, the impact of climate disasters on education is not determined by the disasters alone. In areas where educational facilities and social infrastructure are underdeveloped, it becomes harder to keep learning going. In addition, it was not just a matter of single school closures: in 2025, 40 of the 106 countries and territories experienced multiple climate-related interruptions to education over the course of the year.

And it is not only climate change that threatens education. The impact of conflict is also becoming more severe. According to the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) report, “Education under Attack 2026,” attacks on schools and universities, attacks on students and teachers, and the military use of educational facilities occurred across many regions in 2024 and 2025. GCPEA recorded a total of 9,259 incidents of attacks on and military use of schools and universities over these two years. At least 10,600 students, teachers, and university staff were killed, injured, or abducted. Schools are meant to be places where children can learn in safety. Yet in conflict zones, schools themselves become targets of attack or are used for military purposes. As a result, not only are school buildings physically destroyed, but teachers are forced to flee and children are afraid to attend, causing entire education systems to break down.

Climate-related disasters and conflicts can each independently threaten schooling. In reality, however, areas where people have been displaced by conflict may also be hit by floods or droughts, and in communities where climate disasters have destroyed livelihoods, poverty and social unrest can become more severe.

In response to the disruption of schooling by climate change in 2025, UNICEF is calling for measures such as strengthening the resilience of education systems to climate change, investing in disaster-resilient school facilities, ensuring continuity of learning during and after crises, and improving education and climate data.

GCPEA’s 2024 report also argues that attacks on education linked to climate change and conflict should not be treated as separate risks; instead, a comprehensive “all-hazards, all-risks” approach is needed. Specifically, in early warning, preventative action, and school preparedness, it is necessary to consider not only climate change but also attacks on education due to conflict and other threats in an integrated way.

Learn more about climate change → “Special coverage: Climate reporting”
Learn more about the relationship between conflict and education → “The state of education in the Middle East and North Africa”

(Photo: UN Women Asia and the Pacific / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0])