Across fragile regions, millions of refugees face a relentless double threat: conflict and climate extremes. A new UN Refugee Agency report warns that within 15 years, nearly half of the world's refugee-hosting areas could be battered by climate-related shocks.
By mid-2025, 117 million people had been displaced by war, violence and persecution. Shockingly, three in four are living in countries with high-to-extreme exposure to droughts, floods and heatwaves.
Weather disasters are already forcing repeated displacements. Over the past decade, extreme events triggered some 250 million internal moves, uprooting families who had already fled violence once.
"Climate change is not only amplifying existing vulnerabilities – it is also fueling displacement trends, creating complex and compounding risks for refugees, and leaving many with no escape from its impacts," UN refugees chief Filippo Grandi said. "These are people who have already endured immense loss, and now they face the same hardships again."
Looking ahead, the hottest 15 refugee camps – in the Gambia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Senegal and Mali – could see nearly 200 days of dangerous heat stress each year by 2050. Meanwhile, the number of countries facing extreme climate exposure is set to jump from three to 65 by 2040.
These 65 countries host over 45 percent of all people displaced by conflict today. Yet funding cuts are hampering protective efforts: the United States, the UNHCR's top donor, has slashed its contribution, and other major donors are tightening belts.
"To prevent further displacement, climate financing needs to reach the communities already living on the edge," Grandi urged. "This COP must deliver real action, not empty promises."
The report also highlights hope: channeling sustainable finance into ecosystem restoration in refugee-hosting areas could create jobs, rebuild damaged landscapes and strengthen local climate resilience.
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UN says refugees stuck in vicious cycle of conflict and climate
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