Nearly 80% of the world’s poorest people—around 900 million individuals—are living on the frontlines of climate disasters made worse by global warming, the United Nations has warned.
In a new report, the UN says these vulnerable communities are bearing a “double and deeply unequal burden,” facing both poverty and the escalating impacts of climate change.
Haoliang Xu, Acting Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said in a statement to AFP that while no one is immune to extreme weather events like droughts, floods, and heat waves, “it’s the poorest among us who are facing the harshest impact.” He called on world leaders to use the upcoming COP30 climate summit in Brazil as an opportunity to view climate action as a direct fight against poverty.
According to the UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, 1.1 billion people—roughly 18% of the 6.3 billion across 109 countries—live in acute multidimensional poverty, a condition defined by lack of access to essentials like clean water, education, electricity, and proper housing. Shockingly, half of these people are children.
The report shares the story of Ricardo, a Bolivian day labourer from the Guarani Indigenous community near Santa Cruz de la Sierra, who lives with 18 family members in a single small house with one bathroom and no schooling for his children. His situation, the report says, reflects “the multidimensional realities of poverty” that millions around the world endure.
Two regions—sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia—emerge as the most severely affected, both suffering from extreme poverty and high exposure to climate threats. The report found that 887 million people are directly exposed to at least one environmental hazard, including extreme heat, air pollution, drought, or floods. Alarmingly, 651 million face two or more risks, while 11 million people are struggling against all four simultaneously.
In South Asia alone, an overwhelming 99.1% of poor populations face at least one form of climate hazard, making the region a critical focus for global action. The UN warns that without urgent measures, the growing intensity of climate disasters will reverse years of progress in poverty reduction.
The study urges global policymakers to act swiftly, emphasizing that “responding to overlapping risks requires prioritizing both people and the planet.” It calls for immediate, innovative action to protect vulnerable communities before the situation worsens further.
