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\u201cWhether it is floods sweeping South Sudan and Brazil, record-breaking heat in Kenya and Pakistan, or water shortages in Chad and Ethiopia, extreme weather is pushing already fragile communities to the brink,\u201d<\/strong> the UN agency said.<\/p>\n Over the past decade, weather-related disasters accounted for 250 million internal displacements, the equivalent of around 70,000 every day, or two displacements every three seconds. Returns to Syria and Afghanistan this year have contributed to lower global displacement than in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a new\u00a0report, UNHCR also pointed out that three in four of all those who\u2019ve been uprooted now live in countries where frontline communities face \u201chigh-to-extreme\u201d exposure to climate-related hazards.<\/p>\n \u201cExtreme weather is putting people\u2019s safety at greater risk; it is disrupting access to essential services, destroying homes and livelihoods and forcing families \u2013 many who have already fled violence \u2013 to flee once more<\/strong>,\u201d said Filippo Grandi, the outgoing UN High Commissioner for Refugees.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are people who have already endured immense loss, and now they face the same hardships and devastation again. They are among the hardest hit by severe droughts, deadly floods and record-breaking heatwaves, yet they have the fewest resources to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n Around the world, basic survival systems for refugees are already under strain, UNHCR warned.<\/p>\n In parts of flood-affected Chad, for instance, newly arrived refugees fleeing the war in neighbouring Sudan receive fewer than 10 litres of water a day, which<\/strong> is far below emergency standards<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Evidence also indicates that by 2050, the hottest refugee camps could face nearly 200 days of extreme heat stress per year, with serious risks to health and survival<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of these locations are likely to become uninhabitable due to the deadly combination of extreme heat and high humidity,\u201d the UN refugee agency maintained.<\/p>\n It noted that 1.2 million refugees returned home in early 2025 but half of this number arrived in \u201cclimate-vulnerable\u201d areas. Meanwhile, UNHCR also noted that a full 75 per cent of land across the continent of Africa is deteriorating and that more than one in two refugee settlements are located in \u201chigh stress\u201d areas.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is shrinking access to food, water and income,\u201d the UN agency insisted, driving recruitment to armed groups in parts of the Sahel, fuelling conflict and repeated displacement.<\/p>\n Despite rising needs, funding shortfalls and what UNHCR calls \u201ca deeply inequitable climate finance system\u201d have left millions unprotected. Today, conflict-affected countries that host refugees receive only one quarter of the climate finance they need, while the vast majority of global climate funding never reaches displaced communities or their hosts.<\/p>\n \u201cFunding cuts are severely limiting our ability to protect refugees and displaced families from the effects of extreme weather,\u201d Mr. Grandi said, speaking on the opening day of the UN COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we want stability, we must invest where people are most at risk,\u201d the UNHCR chief added. \u201cTo prevent further displacement, climate financing needs to reach the communities already living on the edge. They cannot be left alone<\/strong>. This COP must deliver real action, not empty promises.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 \u00a0 \u00a0Three in every four refugees or people displaced by conflict are currently living in countries facing high-to-extreme exposure to climate-related hazards.Frontline struggle<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Protection system strung out<\/strong><\/h2>\n
African land degradation threat<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Key UNHCR report findings:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u2022 \u00a0 \u00a01.2 million refugees returned home in early 2025, half to climate-vulnerable areas.
\u2022 \u00a0 \u00a075 per cent of land in Africa is deteriorating, with over half of refugee settlements in high-stress areas.
\u2022 \u00a0 \u00a0Nearly all current refugee settlements will face an unprecedented rise in hazardous heat. By 2050, the hottest fifteen refugee camps in the world \u2013 located in Gambia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Senegal and Mali \u2013 are projected to face nearly 200 days or more of hazardous heat stress per year.
\u2022 \u00a0 \u00a0By 2040, the number of countries facing extreme climate hazards could rise from three to 65.
\u2022 \u00a0 \u00a0Since April 2023, nearly 1.3 million people fleeing the conflict in Sudan have sought refuge in South Sudan and Chad, two countries among the least equipped to cope with the growing climate emergency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n