World / Other
UNHCR warns climate hazards threaten displaced populations
Nearly 90 million forcibly displaced people live in countries highly exposed to climate hazards, the United Nations said Nov. 6, citing a new UNHCR report. That is about three-quarters of the global displaced population, according to the agency.
Source-checked brief: attributed UN primary-source account; no on-location reporting.
Nearly 90 million forcibly displaced people, about three in four worldwide, live in countries with high to extreme exposure to climate hazards, the UN refugee agency said in a report released Nov. 6 ahead of the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye.
UNHCR said many of those people had already fled conflict, violence or persecution only to face severe droughts, deadly floods and extreme heat in places where resources to adapt are limited. The agency warned that climate finance is failing to reach many of the communities most at risk.
Fragile and conflict-affected countries receive only around 10% of global climate finance, even though many host large displaced populations, according to UNHCR. The agency said more than two in three refugees who returned home in the first half of 2026 went back to countries highly vulnerable to climate hazards, and that weather-related disasters have triggered more than 255 million internal displacements over the past decade.
In East Africa, forecasts indicate flooding linked to a very strong El Niño could displace up to 3 million people across Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda by the end of 2026, UNHCR said. At COP31, the agency said it will urge governments and climate finance institutions to include displaced people in national climate plans and direct more long-term adaptation investment to fragile areas.
What we know / what we don't
What we know
- Nearly 90 million forcibly displaced people live in countries highly exposed to climate hazards, the United Nations said Nov. 6, citing a new UNHCR report. That is about three-quarters of the global displaced population, according to the agency.
What we don't know
- This brief is based on the attributed UN statement; it is not independent field reporting.
The source record