‘The water comes up to our knees’: Climate hazards shut millions of children out of school in 2025

When the creek beside Taudibura Garo's school in Papua New Guinea floods, the water doesn't stop at the gate. It rises through the pit toilets – making the school unsafe – sending the 16-year-old and her classmates home without being able to finish.She is one of an estimated 171 million students worldwide whose schooling was disrupted by climate hazards in 2025, according to a new UNICEF report released Wednesday: that’s roughly one in ten students, from pre-school through to the end of high school.Storms were the most common cause of disruptions – affecting 109 million students – followed by floods and heatwaves.They led to suspended classes, damaged schools, a shift to remote learning, shortened instructional time, reduced school attendance and increased risk of dropping out for millions.Taudibura and her classmates in Papua New Guinea face even more extreme weather this year. The stronger-than-ever El Niño climate pattern is expected to increase the risk of extreme weather in the coming months. "Usually, the water comes up to our knees and floods the pit toilets, then it becomes unhealthy for us to stay at school, and we miss the lessons we are supposed to learn,” she explained....