The United Nations warns of the severe risks of climate change for tens of millions of displaced people around the world

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said today, Friday (November 6, 2026), that nearly 90 million forcibly displaced people live in countries that are increasingly exposed to droughts, floods, and extreme heat linked to climate change, and warned of the need for more funding to help vulnerable communities adapt, ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in the period between the twenty-ninth of this month in Turkey in the city of Antalya.

Nearly three-quarters of the world's forcibly displaced people live in countries such as Afghanistan and Bangladesh, which are exposed to severe climate-related risks, according to the report issued by UNHCR.

The report was published ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Antalya, Turkey. The report indicated that the findings reached by the Commission show an overlap in the repercussions of conflicts, displacement and climate change.

"Refugees face a double injustice," said Anton Liz Garcia, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations. "Forced to flee conflicts they did not cause, they are now on the front lines of a climate crisis to which they have contributed very little," he added. Garcia continued, "Adapting to climate change in fragile areas affected by displacement is a matter of life and death." “We need climate finance to reach the communities that have the greatest needs,” he said.

The report highlights the experience of a Sudanese refugee who fled the conflict in El Fasher in June 2023 to the Farchana refugee camp in eastern Chad. The refugee said that she sometimes spends an entire week without finding potable water and is forced to walk longer and longer distances in search of alternative sources, in light of the drying up of nearby seasonal rivers due to the intense heat.

Water scarcity in Syria and dangerous heat in Africa

The UN organization indicated that people who were forced to flee due to conflicts, violence and persecution find themselves in places suffering from severe droughts, deadly floods and extreme heat. The Commission believed that climate change is increasingly threatening the chances of finding durable solutions for the displaced.

The report also warned that climate change makes it more difficult for displaced people to return to their homes sustainably and makes this return fraught with risks. The report indicated that in the first half of 2026, more than two-thirds of refugee returns were to countries highly vulnerable to climate risks, which means they may be forced to flee again.

In Syria, where nearly four million displaced people recently returned, the report said residents are facing worsening water scarcity and erratic rainfall, while floods along the Euphrates River in May damaged homes and displaced thousands.

The report noted that across sub-Saharan Africa, one in three refugee camps could experience at least 100 days of dangerous heat each year by 2050, threatening health and livelihoods. In some camps in Ethiopia, dangerous heat can last more than 200 days a year, increasing the risk of heatstroke and premature death. “Often, refugees have limited access to reliable cooling, water, and energy, making it difficult for them to escape dangerous temperatures,” the report said.

In East Africa, severe floods may displace up to three million people in Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda by the end of this year, UNHCR said. In the Sahel, drought, floods and conflicts may intensify competition for scarce resources.

The Commission called on governments and climate change financing institutions that will meet in Turkey to increase funding allocated to adaptation to climate change, noting that only about 10 percent of financing to combat climate change reaches countries that are fragile or affected by conflicts.