UNHCR Warns 90 Million Displaced People Face Climate Hazards

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported Friday that nearly 90 million forcibly displaced people live in countries with severe exposure to climate-related hazards, including droughts, floods, and extreme heat. In a report titled 'No Escape III', the agency noted that approximately three-quarters of the global displaced population resides in high-risk nations such as Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The agency highlighted a double injustice where refugees flee conflicts they did not cause only to face a climate crisis they contributed to the least. This environmental instability undermines sustainable returns; over two-thirds of refugees who returned home in the first half of 2026 did so to climate-vulnerable countries. In Syria, nearly 4 million returnees face water scarcity and flooding along the Euphrates River, while one in three refugee settlements in sub-Saharan Africa could experience 100 or more days of dangerous heat annually by 2050.

Immediate threats include a supersized El Niño, which is forecast to displace up to 3 million people across Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda by the end of 2026. Ahead of the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, the UNHCR is calling for a shift in global climate finance, noting that only 10 percent of current funding reaches the fragile and conflict-affected countries hosting these populations.