“Floods in South Sudan and Brazil, record heat in Kenya and Pakistan, and water shortages in Chad and Ethiopia are driving fragile communities to the brink,” stated the UN agency.
In the last decade, weather-related disasters have caused 250 million internal displacements, averaging 70,000 daily, or two every three seconds. Returns to Syria and Afghanistan this year have helped reduce global displacement compared to 2024.
Frontline struggle
In a new report, UNHCR highlighted that 75% of displaced individuals reside in countries with “high-to-extreme” climate hazard exposure.
“Extreme weather increases safety risks, disrupts essential services, destroys homes and livelihoods, and forces families, often already displaced by violence, to flee again,” stated Filippo Grandi, outgoing UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
“These individuals, already having faced immense loss, endure repeated hardships and devastation. They are among the hardest hit by severe droughts, deadly floods, and heatwaves, yet they have the least resources to recover.”
Protection system strung out
Globally, refugee survival systems are strained, warned UNHCR.
In flood-affected Chad, new refugees from Sudan receive less than 10 liters of water daily, below emergency standards.
Research suggests that by 2050, the hottest refugee camps could face around 200 days annually of extreme heat stress, posing serious health and survival risks.
“Many such regions could become uninhabitable due to extreme heat and humidity,” stated the UN refugee agency.
African land degradation threat
In early 2025, 1.2 million refugees returned home, but half went to “climate-vulnerable” areas. UNHCR also noted that 75% of Africa’s land is deteriorating, with more than half of refugee settlements in “high-stress” areas.
“This reduces access to food, water, and income,” emphasized the UN agency, increasing recruitment to armed groups in the Sahel, fueling conflict, and repeated displacement.
Despite increased needs, funding gaps and what UNHCR calls “a deeply inequitable climate finance system” leave millions unprotected. Conflict-affected refugee-hosting countries receive only a quarter of needed climate finance, while most global climate funding never reaches displaced communities or their hosts.
“Funding cuts severely limit our ability to shield refugees and displaced families from extreme weather effects,” Mr. Grandi said at the UN COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil.
“For stability, investment is needed where risks are greatest,” the UNHCR chief added.
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