By Gloria Dickie
BAKU (Reuters) – Children in East Africa, where heatwaves and floods have closed schools in recent months, are pressing world leaders to protect their education – and their future – at the COP29 climate summit in the United Nations in Azerbaijan.
Siama, 17, from South Sudan, missed two weeks of school in April when temperatures soared to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).
“Our country is a developing country, so we don’t have climate-resistant buildings… and we don’t have air conditioning in schools,” he said.
More than 40 million children were locked out of classrooms this year, from Asia to Africa, due to extreme heat, which scientists say has become worse and more frequent due to climate change.
Naomi, 14, also struggled with school closures in South Sudan.
“This affected me a lot because this year I am taking my national exams,” he said.
At home, “we couldn’t concentrate because it was hot, the temperatures were very high, you have to concentrate more on lowering your body temperature by going to bathe every two hours.”
In Somalia, 16-year-old Nafiso often cannot sleep at night, thinking about his future under climate change.
“My father is a farmer. When it is very hot, there is a lot of drought. When it rains a lot, it is difficult to get food.”
Sometimes he doesn’t have enough food to eat three times a day.
Floods have also prevented him from reaching school at times.
“This really worries us what the future will look like if no action is taken, if there is no climate finance to create climate resilient schools in the country,” Naomi said.