Nairobi — An estimated 1.9 million Kenyan students experienced climate-related disruption to their schooling in 2025, with drought identified as the major hazard in a new UNICEF report released of Thursday.
The figure is roughly equivalent to one in every ten learners enrolled from pre-primary to secondary school. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) recorded about 18.4 million learners across those levels in 2025, comprising 3.12 million in pre-primary, 8.23 million in primary, 3.70 million in junior secondary and 3.34 million in secondary schools.
Globally, more than 171 million students in 106 countries and territories had their schooling disrupted by climate hazards in 2025, UNICEF says. Three-quarters of those affected lived in low- and lower-middle-income countries.
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"For millions of children, climate hazards do more than disrupt lessons, they destroy schools, uproot families, and push the most vulnerable children, especially girls, out of the classroom for good," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said.
Storms were the most common cause of disruption, affecting 109 million students, while floods affected at least 70 million and heatwaves about 50 million.
UNICEF cautions that the figures are conservative because longer-term hazards such as drought are harder to capture than acute events such as floods and storms.
Across Africa, Niger recorded about 4.07 million affected students, South Sudan 3.8 million, Malawi 3.32 million and Somalia about 1.54 million.
In South Sudan, UNICEF says 2.8 million school-age children are already out of school, while more than half of schools lack safe classrooms, trained teachers, water and sanitation facilities.
The report says climate-related disruption can increase absenteeism and dropout, particularly where drought affects household livelihoods, food security and access to water.
Girls face additional risks when schools close or are damaged, including increased caregiving and water-collection responsibilities, displacement and child marriage.
UNICEF estimates the disruption could translate into at least US$200 billion in potential lifetime earnings losses for students affected in 2025. The figure is a modelled estimate based on potential learning and earnings losses, rather than money already lost.
The agency is calling for climate resilience to be integrated into education planning, stronger school infrastructure, learning continuity during emergencies, increased financing and better climate and education data systems.
In Tanzania, UNICEF highlights climate change clubs that had been expanded to all secondary schools and more than half of primary schools by the end of 2025, with 9,865 adolescents involved in developing community climate solutions.
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