Nearly 90 million forcibly displaced people worldwide are exposed to severe climate-related hazards, including droughts, floods and extreme heat, as the UN refugee agency warns that conflict-affected and vulnerable communities are bearing the consequences of a worsening climate crisis despite contributing least to it.

In its latest report, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said nearly three in four forcibly displaced people worldwide live in countries facing high to extreme exposure to climate-related hazards.

The agency called for urgent international action to protect refugees and other displaced populations ahead of the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, warning that climate change is already undermining livelihoods and threatening prospects for lasting solutions to displacement.

“Refugees face a double injustice. Forced to flee conflicts they did not cause, they are now on the frontlines of a climate crisis they have contributed least to,” said Anton Leis Garcia, UNHCR’s assistant high commissioner for operations.

Leis Garcia said climate change was no longer a distant threat for millions of displaced people and warned that the international community “cannot allow those who have already lost so much to be left behind in global climate action.”

The report also highlighted how climate vulnerability is undermining efforts to enable refugees to return home and rebuild their lives.

More than two in three refugees who returned home during the first half of 2026 went back to countries vulnerable to climate hazards, according to UNHCR.

Extreme heat and flooding threaten displaced populations

Climate-related disasters are also intensifying the threats facing already vulnerable communities.

“Extreme heat is another growing threat,” the report said, warning that by 2050, one in three refugee settlements across sub-Saharan Africa could face at least 100 days of dangerous heat annually.

More than half of the locations assessed could experience at least 50 additional days of dangerous heat each year, further threatening living conditions in communities already struggling with displacement.

UNHCR said weather-related disasters had triggered more than 255 million internal displacements worldwide over the past decade, averaging around 70,000 people every day.

The agency also warned that severe flooding associated with a very strong El Niño could displace up to 3 million people across Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda by the end of 2026, depending on the severity of the floods.

Climate funding leaves vulnerable countries behind

The report further identified climate change as a growing threat to stateless populations, with nearly 90% of the world’s 4.7 million reported stateless people living in countries facing high to extreme climate hazards.

“Without legal recognition, many struggle to access disaster relief and support to adapt, leaving them particularly vulnerable,” UNHCR said.

Despite the scale of these threats, fragile and conflict-affected countries receive only around 10% of global climate finance, leaving many of the communities most exposed to climate disasters with limited resources to prepare for and respond to their consequences.

“We need climate financing to reach the communities where the needs are greatest,” Leis Garcia said.

“Refugees and their host communities must be part of these investments, not an afterthought,” he added.

UNHCR said it would urge governments and international institutions at COP31 to include refugees and displaced people in national climate plans and financing mechanisms.