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Euronews
15-05-2025
- Climate
- Euronews
Extreme weather behind 99.5% of disaster displacements last year
Cyclones, floods and other disasters forced people from their homes 45.8 million times last year, official figures show, nearly double the annual average over the past decade. Virtually all of these internal 'disaster displacements' were due to extreme weather events, which are being turbocharged by climate change. That's according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)'s latest global report, which also found that the number of people living in internal displacement at the end of 2024 exceeded 80 million for the first time. In total, 83.4 million people were forced to move within their own country due to conflict and violence, as well as increasing disasters. That's equivalent to the population of Germany, and more than twice as many as only six years ago. 'Internal displacement is where conflict, poverty and climate collide, hitting the most vulnerable the hardest,' says Alexandra Bilak, IDMC director. Sarah Rosengaertner, deputy managing director at the Global Centre for Climate Mobility (GCCM), described the latest figures as 'sad but not surprising.' 'It dovetails with the news that the world has reached, if not surpassed, the threshold of 1.5°C of average global warming,' she tells Euronews Green. 'Unfortunately, we can expect that rising temperatures will mean more disasters and further increases in disaster-related displacement in the coming years and decades.' IDMC, part of the Norwegian Refugee Council, counts each time a person is forced to move as an internal displacement. So the 45.8 million disaster displacement figure - the highest since its records began in 2008 - refers to evacuations, not individuals. The number of internally displaced peoples (IDPs) on 31 December is a separate statistic, capturing a snapshot in time in each country. Of last year's 83.4 million total, 9.8 million people were displaced by disasters; a 29 per cent increase on 2023 and more than double the number from just five years ago. Weather-related events - many intensified by climate change - were responsible for 99.5 per cent of disaster displacements during the year, IDMC's Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) reveals. Cyclones - such as hurricanes Helene and Milton that hit the US, and typhoon Yagi that struck numerous countries in East Asia - triggered 54 per cent of movements tied to disasters in 2024. Floods prompted another 42 per cent, with major events on every continent: from Chad to Brazil, Afghanistan to the Philippines and across Europe. Many disaster displacements were pre-emptive evacuations that saved lives in the US, the Philippines, Bangladesh and elsewhere. IDMC says this shows that displacement can be a positive coping mechanism in disaster-prone countries. The 11 million disaster displacements in the US were the most ever recorded for a single country, it notes. Although climate-fuelled disasters are getting worse, 90 per cent of people internally displaced by the end of 2024 (73.5 million) had fled conflict and violence. In Sudan, the devastating civil war led to 11.6 million IDPs - the most ever for one country. Nearly the entire population of Gaza remained displaced at the end of the year - with some forced to flee from Israel's bombardment up to 10 times or more. The number of countries reporting both conflict and disaster displacement has tripled since 2009. More than three-quarters of people internally displaced by conflict and violence by the close of 2024 were living in countries with high or very high vulnerability to climate change, according to analysis of data from IDMC and the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative. 'Climate change increases the risk of being displaced and amplifies the vulnerabilities of displaced people, especially in places already affected by conflict and violence. When disasters strike in conflict settings, the risks multiply,' explains Vicente Anzellini, IDMC global and regional analysis manager. 'This convergence makes crises more complex, prolongs displacement, and sets back efforts to find durable solutions. Ignoring these overlapping risks puts people at risk of long-term displacement.' Resolving disaster displacement requires both immediate responses and long-term planning, Anzellini tells Euronews Green. People need humanitarian aid, but also investment in climate adaptation and mitigation - without which the number of displaced people will continue rising. 'There is not a single solution,' says Rosengaertner. 'We need an alliance of political leaders, technocrats, entrepreneurs and community leaders to advance a combination of actions that both protect people's right to stay and enable movement in dignity.' First and foremost, this means cutting greenhouse gas emissions that are fuelling extreme weather events. The GCCM, which is backed by UN agencies, highlights four other steps: Urban areas will often be at the forefront of responding to displaced persons' needs, Rosengaertner adds, and so must be prepared to provide safety and opportunity. Internal displacement 'uproots lives', in Anzellini's words. It is a clear form of 'loss and damage' - a new category of climate finance which countries agreed to deliver at the UN climate summit in 2022. But, he says, 'while progress and commitments have been made, current funding is far below what is needed and often fails to account for the true costs of displacement.' The increasing recognition that more funding should be allocated for adaptation and loss and damage does not mean that the necessary funds are being made available, says Rosengaertner. Or that they come in the form that recipient countries deem fair. 'Displacement risk and displaced populations are not necessarily at the top of priorities (yet) when governments seek funding for adaptation and L&D,' she adds. Priorities are likely to get more competitive, as wealthy countries have been cutting their humanitarian aid budgets recently. As well as directly impacting displaced people, 'these cuts also affect a lot of the data sources and systems that we rely on to monitor and understand internal displacement,' explains Anzellini. It's too early to tell the full extent of these impacts, though, and lack of data will inevitably make it harder for organisations to plan responses. 'Cuts to humanitarian and development aid are already costing lives and will make many communities more vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather and disasters,' Rosengaertner warns. 'At a time when many people are looking for order, these cuts are a recipe for further destabilising already vulnerable populations and societies.' However, she says, there could be space for 'rethinking' development aid and climate finance. If rich countries were to compensate for the cuts by improving conditions for trade and labour mobility, for example, or engaging in technology transfer, 'maybe the net outcome of aid cuts could be positive.' 'What is critical,' she concludes, 'is that more resources reach countries and communities in need and create skills, opportunities and climate resilience locally.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
13-05-2025
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
More Than 83 Million People Internally Displaced Worldwide, Says Monitor
Raging conflicts, disasters and worsening climate change displaced tens of millions of people within their own countries last year, a new record, monitors said Tuesday. An unprecedented 83.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) were registered in 2024 -- equivalent to the entire population of Germany -- amid mass displacement from conflicts in places like Sudan and Gaza, as well as floods and giant cyclones. That is more than double the number from just six years ago, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said in their annual joint report on internal displacement. "Internal displacement is where conflict, poverty and climate collide, hitting the most vulnerable the hardest," IDMC chief Alexandra Bilak said in a statement. The monitors highlighted that nearly 90 percent of the world's IDPs, or 73.5 million people, were displaced by conflict and violence -- an 80-percent increase since 2018. Some 10 countries each counted more than three million IDPs from conflict and violence at the end of 2024, with civil war-ravaged Sudan alone home to a staggering 11.6 million IDPs -- the most ever recorded in a single country, the report showed. Some two million people, nearly the entire population of the Gaza Strip, was also displaced at the end of last year, even before fresh mass displacements since Israel ended a two-month ceasefire on March 18, ramping up its bombardment of the Palestinian territory. Worldwide, close to 10 million people were displaced within their countries at the end of last year, after being forced to flee by disasters -- more than double the number from five years ago, the monitors said. A full 65.8 million new internal displacements were meanwhile reported in 2024, with some people forced to flee multiple times during the year, Tuesday's report showed. Conflict was responsible for 20.1 million of those fresh displacements, while a record 45.8 million people fled their homes to escape disasters. Faced with several major hurricanes like Helene and Milton, which prompted mass evacuations, the United States alone accounted for 11 million disaster-related displacements -- nearly a quarter of global total, the report said. Weather-related events, many intensified by climate change, triggered 99.5 percent of all of last year's disaster displacements. The number of countries reporting both conflict and disaster displacement had meanwhile tripled in 15 years, with more than three-quarters of people internally displaced by conflict living in countries that are very vulnerable to climate change. Often, the drivers and impacts of displacement "are intertwined, making crises more complex and prolonging the plight of those displaced", the report said. The stark numbers come as humanitarian organizations worldwide have been reeling since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, immediately freezing most US foreign aid funding. Many of the sweeping cuts are being felt by IDPs, who typically garner less attention than refugees, who have fled into other countries. "This year's figures must act as a wake-up call for global solidarity," NRC chief Jan Egeland insisted in the statement. "Every time humanitarian funding gets cut, another displaced person loses access to food, medicine, safety and hope," he warned. The lack of progress towards reining in displacement globally, he said, "is both a policy failure and a moral stain on humanity".
Japan Times
13-05-2025
- General
- Japan Times
More than 83 million people internally displaced worldwide, report shows
Raging conflicts, disasters and worsening climate change displaced tens of millions of people within their own countries last year, a new record, monitors have said. An unprecedented 83.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) were registered in 2024 — equivalent to the entire population of Germany — amid mass displacement from conflicts in places like Sudan and Gaza, as well as floods and giant cyclones. That is more than double the number from just six years ago, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said Tuesday in their annual joint report on internal displacement. "Internal displacement is where conflict, poverty and climate collide, hitting the most vulnerable the hardest," IDMC chief Alexandra Bilak said in a statement. Most displaced by conflict The monitors highlighted that nearly 90% of the world's IDPs, or 73.5 million people, were displaced by conflict and violence — an 80% increase since 2018. Some 10 countries each counted more than 3 million IDPs from conflict and violence at the end of 2024, with civil war-ravaged Sudan alone home to a staggering 11.6 million IDPs — the most ever recorded in a single country, the report showed. Some 2 million people, nearly the entire population of the Gaza Strip, was also displaced at the end of last year, even before fresh mass displacements since Israel ended a two-month ceasefire on March 18, ramping up its bombardment of the Palestinian territory. Worldwide, close to 10 million people were displaced within their countries at the end of last year, after being forced to flee by disasters — more than double the number from five years ago, the monitors said. A full 65.8 million new internal displacements were meanwhile reported in 2024, with some people forced to flee multiple times during the year, the report showed. Conflict was responsible for 20.1 million of those fresh displacements, while a record 45.8 million people fled their homes to escape disasters. 'Stain on humanity' Faced with several major hurricanes like Helene and Milton, which prompted mass evacuations, the United States alone accounted for 11 million disaster-related displacements — nearly a quarter of global total, the report said. Weather-related events, many intensified by climate change, triggered 99.5% of all of last year's disaster displacements. The number of countries reporting both conflict and disaster displacement had meanwhile tripled in 15 years, with more than three-quarters of people internally displaced by conflict living in countries that are very vulnerable to climate change. Often, the drivers and impacts of displacement "are intertwined, making crises more complex and prolonging the plight of those displaced," the report said. The stark numbers come as humanitarian organizations worldwide have been reeling since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in January, immediately freezing most U.S. foreign aid funding. Many of the sweeping cuts are being felt by IDPs. They typically garner less attention than refugees, who have fled into other countries. "This year's figures must act as a wake-up call for global solidarity," NRC chief Jan Egeland insisted in the statement. "Every time humanitarian funding gets cut, another displaced person loses access to food, medicine, safety and hope," he warned. The lack of progress towards reining in displacement globally, he said, "is both a policy failure and a moral stain on humanity."
