UN warns 90m displaced people face climate risks

At least 90 million forcibly displaced people worldwide are living under severe climate risks, including droughts, floods and extreme heat, the UN refugee agency UNHCR has warned.

In a report released on Friday ahead of the COP31 climate summit, the agency called for urgent increases in climate adaptation funding for vulnerable communities.

The report said nearly three-quarters of the world's displaced people live in countries facing high climate risks, including Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations Anton Leis Garcia said climate adaptation in conflict-affected and fragile areas was essential for survival, not merely a development priority.

The agency warned that climate change is making the safe and sustainable return of displaced people to their homes increasingly difficult. More than two-thirds of refugees who returned to their home countries in the first half of 2026 went back to areas facing severe climate risks.

The report also highlighted growing threats from extreme heat, water shortages, droughts and floods in refugee-hosting regions.

UNHCR urged world leaders and climate finance institutions attending COP31 in Turkey to increase adaptation funding, noting that only around 10 per cent of global climate finance reaches fragile and conflict-affected countries.

-AJM