On the occasion of the World Climate Conference in Belém, the UN refugee agency UNHCR shows that by 2025 around 86 million refugees will suffer from extreme climate conditions such as drought or heat waves. About 117 million people fled this year.
At the same time, they show it United Nations shows that millions of displaced people are faced with the twin threats of war and climate change. For many of them, there is almost no way out, the refugee agency in Geneva said.
Refugee aid requires more assistance to affected countries
UNHCR figures illustrate the scale: three out of four refugees and other displaced people live in countries that are highly vulnerable to climate-related threats. Additionally, many of the world’s largest refugee settlements are located in areas with extremely severe and dangerous weather conditions.
Mark Ankerstein, Director of the UN Refugee Agency, called for more support for affected countries: “We urgently need to provide more support to these largely poor countries, which have little chance of protecting their populations from the impacts of extreme weather.” According to UNHCR, floods, storms and other extreme weather events exacerbate crisis situations leading to displacement. It also includes slow changes such as sea level rise and desert formation.
