The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on Monday warned that by 2050, the hottest refugee camps could face nearly 200 days of extreme heat stress per year, posing serious risks to health and survival.  

Filippo Grandi, outgoing UN Commissioner for Refugees, said “extreme weather is putting people’s safety at greater risk; it is disrupting access to essential services, destroying homes and livelihoods and forcing families–many who have already fled violence–to flee once more.” 

Roughly 117 million people are displaced by violence or persecution today. UN experts found that while climate change and environmental degradation do not directly cause war or conflict, it can exacerbate or prolong violence in complex, context-specific ways. Climate may worsen poverty, heighten tensions over scarce resources such as food, water, and land, and increase economic and political insecurity. Climate impacts often lead to the loss of livelihoods, which can in turn raise the risk of recruitment into armed groups.  

Moreover, climate-related risks facing displaced populations are projected to intensify. In 2024, greenhouse gas concentrations reached record highs, while average global ocean temperatures rose by 0.2 degrees Celsius in just one year. The number of countries expected to face extreme climate-related hazards will rise from three to 65 by 2040. Collectively, these 65 countries host over 45 percent of all people currently displaced by conflict, and half of them are already affected by instability or ongoing violence.  

Experts framed their response to the issue through four calls to action: enable, include, invest and deliver. They called for accelerated collective efforts, strengthened protection of refugees, and thorough preparedness of host communities in the face of climate impacts. Proposed solutions would promote leadership springing from displaced communities and would aim to ensure that climate policies are developed in consultation with displaced people. The report also called on governments and private actors to scale up equitable access to climate finance for refugees.  

Many of the world’s largest refugee settlements are located in areas that experience harsher weather conditions than those generally found in their respective host countries. Climate-related hazards compound and multiply the challenges faced by those who have already been displaced, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings.  

The report came on the first day of the UN Climate Change Conference. This year’s meeting, COP 30, will focus on the pace at which the planet is heating.