In November, UNICEF warned in its State of the World’s Children report that climate crises are expected to become more widespread between 2050 and 2059, with eight times as many children exposed to extreme heat waves, and three times as many exposed to extreme river floods, compared to the 2000s.

More than 118 million children had their schooling interrupted in April alone, UNICEF said, as large parts of the Middle East and Asia, from Gaza in the west to the Philippines in the southeast, experienced a sizzling weekslong heat wave with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius.

"Children cannot concentrate in classrooms that offer no respite from sweltering heat."

In India alone, 54,784,029 students were affected in 2024, with heatwaves being the major climate hazard causing the largest school disruption.