High Temperature Due To Climate Change Leads To Poorer School Performances In Asia

Climate change now determines how many days schools are open because of heat waves, storms, or flooding, and it also affects how well students do in school.

According to a UNESCO assessment published on the World Environment Day, there is no doubt that climate change is interfering with education and having an impact on educational outcomes, especially in Asia.

Every year, the majority of the nations in the region experience school closures due to climate change, which negatively impacts underprivileged people by causing learning loss and dropout rates.

Suspension Of Classes

In mid-May, officials in India announced the closure of all schools nationwide due to temperatures that were over an oppressive 47 degrees Celsius.

In Delhi, privately run schools defied the shutdown order despite having air-conditioned classrooms and school buses-a clear illustration of how the disparity in education operates. But they too had to close a few days later due to another injunction from the local authorities.

The local governments of the bordering northern Indian states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana, whose educational systems are significantly worse than Delhi's, followed suit and ordered an early start to summer holidays.

For the majority of April and May in the Philippines, the heat index-which accounts for humidity-exceeded the danger level of 42 degrees Celsius, resulting in multiple suspensions of classes while in Cambodia, school days are reduced by two hours.

Many schools, especially public ones in Asia's emerging nations, are overcrowding, inadequately ventilated, and ill-prepared to withstand intense heat. Some, particularly in underdeveloped and isolated places, lack fans or even electricity to operate, creating an uneasy, dangerous, and toxic learning environment.

"Over the past 20 years, schools were closed as a result of at least 75% of the extreme weather events impacting 5 million people or more in low- and middle-income countries," the UNESCO report states, citing analysis by the World Bank.

The group claims that exam scores and grades are suffering as a result of high temperatures. In addition, the susceptibility of impoverished families to climate change is resulting in reduced household income, which affects their capacity to pay for education.

Resilient To Climate Shocks

While closing schools might help ease the current heat wave, when the major monsoon months start in July, officials will likely start closing schools again if there are storms and flooding.

Schools in Southeast Asia will likely experience an increase in class suspensions as the monsoon season approaches and there's a chance of La Niña in the last quarter of this year.

In 2021, a UNICEF research issued warned that children were at incredibly high danger from the effects of climate change, which might result in the closure of schools. However, no indication of adaptive action is present.

In addition to the rise in carbon emissions, it is impractical for schools in the area to invest in expensive infrastructure and air conditioning in an attempt to minimize disruptions from severe weather. The majority of public schools lack even basic drinking water and sanitary amenities.

There are no quick remedies. However, there are steps that can be done right now.

It is necessary to upgrade school building ventilation. Building additional classrooms would help ease the overpopulation of spaces. Therefore, hiring additional teachers is a good idea.

New school buildings shouldn't be constructed in flood-prone locations and need to be resilient to climatic shocks. Long-term interruption to education can be minimized by making investments in digital learning and disaster-resilient infrastructure.

There should be more trees planted in the surrounding neighborhoods especially on school property. Many schools today have completely concrete grounds in order to minimize upkeep, and their grounds are devoid of trees.