Mapping the impact of climate change on global displacement

As COP29 concludes, Al Jazeera examines the 359 million weather-related displacements recorded worldwide since 2008.

As the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) concludes in Baku, Azerbaijan, global commitments to address climate change are once again being confronted with the stark realities on the ground of widespread weather-related displacement.

According to the 2024 Global Report on Internal Displacement, at least 6.6 million people worldwide were displaced by weather-related disasters by the end of 2023.

However, many were displaced multiple times primarily due to floods, storms, droughts and wildfires, resulting in a total of at least 20.3 million forced movements throughout the year.

An additional 1.1 million people were displaced by natural disasters not directly attributed to climate change such as earthquakes and volcanic activity.

“It is expected that the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance will grow exponentially in countries vulnerable to climate change,” the Norwegian Refugee Council’s global lead on climate and environment, Julie Gassien, told Al Jazeera.

“Climate change will contribute to much larger numbers of people being displaced and will lead to more, larger and more intense hazardous events”, she added.

The countries with the highest number of weather-related displacements in 2023 were China (4.6 million) and the Philippines (2.1 million). There, Typhoon Doksuri, one of the most powerful storms of the season, displaced more than a million people and killed dozens.

In Africa, Somalia experienced the continent’s highest number of displacements with 2 million, largely due to the “worst floods in decades” forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

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