Weather disasters have already triggered more than 255 million internal displacements over the past decade, averaging about 70,000 per day. The crisis is actively impeding repatriation, as over two-thirds of refugees returning home earlier this year moved back into highly vulnerable nations like Syria, where Euphrates River flooding and depleted groundwater hamper stability. Future forecasts warn of intensified migration pressures, including the potential displacement of three million people across East Africa by late 2026 due to an exceptionally strong El Nino.
Key points
Displaced populations encounter severe environmental hazards because three-quarters curre…: Displaced populations encounter severe environmental hazards because three-quarters currently reside in countries with heavy exposure to climate disasters.
Sustainable repatriation remains difficult because more than two-thirds of recent returne…: Sustainable repatriation remains difficult because more than two-thirds of recent returnees went back to highly climate-vulnerable countries.
Fragile and conflict-affected host nations receive only 10 percent of worldwide climate f…: Fragile and conflict-affected host nations receive only 10 percent of worldwide climate finance despite bearing the brunt of displacement risks.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
GENEVA: Three-quarters of the world's displaced people live in countries facing severe exposure to climate-related hazards, the United Nations said on Friday (Nov 5), calling for urgent action to protect them.
Days before the COP31 climate conference in Turkey, a UN refugee agency report said nearly 90 million refugees and other forcibly displaced people faced severe risks linked to a warming planet.
"Refugees face a double injustice," Anton Leis Garcia, UNHCR's assistant high commissioner for operations, said in a statement.
"Forced to flee conflicts they did not cause, they are now on the frontlines of a climate crisis they have contributed least to."
People forced to flee conflict, violence and persecution find themselves in places grappling with severe droughts, deadly floods and extreme heat, the organisation pointed out.
Climate change was also increasingly threatening the prospect of lasting solutions for displaced people, UNHCR said.
It said more than two-thirds of refugees who returned home during the first half of this year went back to countries highly vulnerable to climate hazards.
In Syria, where nearly four million displaced people have recently…
Capital authorities are moving to curb public activities as local atmospheric conditions continue to deteriorate across the National Capital Territory. Urban planners are prioritizing pollution mitigation measures to protect public health while targeted suppression operations begin in heavily impacted neighborhoods.
Falling winter temperatures and calm winds are trapping dangerous industrial, vehicle, and agricultural emissions across the capital, triggering widespread eye irritation and respiratory distress. In response, authorities have launched early mitigation strategies including construction halts, parking fee hikes, and traffic restrictions. However, environmental analysts caution that temporary winter measures must be paired with sustained five-year sector targets to ensure lasting relief.
Parliamentary amendments have overhauled the decade-old Transboundary Haze Pollution Act to allow preventive enforcement against entities causing fire risks overseas before smoke arrives. By lowering evidentiary thresholds and barring corporate claims of confidentiality, authorities aim to overcome cross-border investigation hurdles that left the original law without a single prosecution. These measures significantly heighten legal and operational exposure for regional firms linked to land-clearing blazes.