Around 250 million people have been displaced from their homes over the past decade due to weather-related disasters, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a report released on Monday to coincide with the opening of the 30th United Nations Annual Conference on Climate Change (COP) in Brazil.
As countries’ enthusiasm for agreeing action to curb climate change appears to continue to wane, the Department of Migration has released its second major report on the impact of climate change on refugees, No Escape II: The Way Forward, in the run-up to COP 30.
“Over the past decade, weather-related disasters have caused approximately 250 million internally displaced people, equivalent to more than 67,000 people displaced per day,” the report said.
UNHCR added that climate change is also increasing the hardships faced by people displaced by conflict and other drivers.
“Climate change is exacerbating and multiplying the challenges already faced by displaced people and their hosts, especially in fragile and conflict-affected environments,” the report continued.
The report points to flooding in South Sudan and Brazil, record heat in Kenya and Pakistan, and water shortages in Chad and Ethiopia.
The number of countries with extreme exposure to climate-related hazards is projected to increase from three to 65 by 2040.
MNA/