About 90 million refugees and forcibly displaced people live in areas highly affected by the repercussions of climate change, according to a report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Friday, ahead of the COP 31 climate conference in Turkey. The Commission warned that drought, floods and extreme heat threaten the lives of displaced people and their chances of returning to their homes, noting that fragile and conflict-affected countries receive only 10% of global climate financing.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 04:09

The United Nations warned Friday that three-quarters of the world's displaced people live in countries highly vulnerable to risks associated with climate change, calling for urgent action to protect millions of people who have been forced to flee conflict, violence and persecution.

A report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, prior to the holding of the United Nations climate conference "COP 31" in Turkey, revealed that about 90 million refugees and forcibly displaced persons face serious risks resulting from rising temperatures on the planet.

"Refugees face a double injustice," Anton Les Garcia, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, said in a statement.

"After being forced to flee conflicts they did not cause, they today find themselves on the front lines of a climate crisis to which they have contributed very little," he explained.

According to UNHCR, millions of people who have fled conflict, violence and persecution find themselves in areas exposed to severe droughts, deadly floods and extremely high temperatures, which also threatens the chances of finding durable solutions to their situations.

The report showed that more than two-thirds of the refugees who returned to their countries during the first half of this year returned to areas highly affected by climate risks.

In Syria, where about 4 million displaced people recently returned, UNHCR warned that declining groundwater levels and extreme weather events threaten recovery efforts.

She pointed to the floods that occurred in areas along the Euphrates River last May, which damaged homes and caused the displacement of thousands of people again.

Increased risks of flooding and extreme heat

The UNHCR warned of escalating risks associated with extreme heat, noting that by 2050, one in three refugee settlements in sub-Saharan Africa may face at least 100 days annually of dangerous temperatures.

The report also showed that weather-related disasters caused more than 255 million internal displacements around the world during the past decade, equivalent to about 70,000 cases per day.

The Commission expected that the El Niño phenomenon, which reached exceptional strength this year, would cause additional waves of displacement.

In East Africa, severe flooding linked to this phenomenon could displace up to 3 million people in Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda by the end of 2026.

"For millions of people, climate change is not a distant threat. Rather, it is destroying their shelters, undermining their livelihoods, and threatening their hopes of rebuilding their lives," Garcia said.

Calls for increased climate financing

In light of these risks, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned that fragile and conflict-affected countries, which host large numbers of displaced people exposed to the repercussions of climate change, receive only 10% of global climate financing.

The Commission announced that it will call on governments and climate finance institutions during the COP 31 conference to include refugees and other displaced people in national plans to confront climate change and the associated financing mechanisms.

Garcia stressed that displaced people should not be excluded from international efforts, saying: “We cannot allow people who have lost so much to be left out of global climate action.”

France 24/AFP

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