More than 12 million people were displaced in the last six months mainly due to climate-related disasters

The latest report by the International Federation of Red Cross indicates that as many as 12.6 million people were internally displaced within just the last six months as a result of natural disasters driven by climate changes and conflicts.

The publication focuses on the period between September 2020 and February 2021. The authors pinpoint that 60% of all displacements took place in the Asia Pacific region, mostly due to weather events such as droughts or floods. Thus, almost 10.3 million people were displaced globally due to disasters driven by climate changes. By comparison, nearly 2.3 million other people were displaced because of conflicts during the same period of time. Thus, extreme weather events are the main factor contributing to internal displacements.

Asia is more vulnerable to climate-driven natural disasters as it has a weaker policy of adaptation and mitigation to climate changes than other parts of the world. In the Philippines alone, as many as 3 million people were forced to leave their homes in the last six months following typhoon Goni, the strongest storm on earth last year.

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, about 22.7 million people are displaced every year with 80% of them in Asia. This number takes into consideration all possible reasons for displacement. Data shows that while in 2018, a little over 17 million people were displaced globally, in 2019 the number had grown to 24.9 million, a dramatic increase with climate changes mainly contributing to the alarming statistics.

Furthermore, these numbers are expected to grow. The World Bank forecasts that as many as 90 million people may be displaced in this century because of rising sea levels. In turn, the Institute for Economics and Peace projects that over 1 billion people will be forcibly displaced due to conflicts and climate-driven disasters by 2050.

As climatologists expect an intensification of climate-related natural disasters and an increase in numbers, the international community may also expect a surge in the level of displaced people all of whom will need shelter, healthcare, and humanitarian assistance which will generate additional costs.

The International Federation of Red Cross has prepared a set of recommendations explaining how to address this forthcoming challenge.

It advises investment in local actors who will be able to deliver assistance more quickly and more efficiently than global humanitarian aid players when disasters occur. Both displaced and host communities should be involved in the decision-making process to support recovery and help to avoid possible conflicts. Countries that are the most vulnerable to the occurrence of natural disasters should improve their internal systems of humanitarian needs and capacities assessment. Population movements have to be monitored which will ease the process of identification of potential humanitarian needs and ensure that people are not left alone without assistance. Humanitarian and development aid organizations should cooperate and coordinate their activities to be able to provide help more effectively. Last but not least, the government and the public should be engaged in the process and mobilize appropriate resources when humanitarian operations are needed.

*Editor’s note. This article has been updated. The initial article contained an error in the title. Thus, 12.3 million is the number of internally displaced people as a result of natural disasters AND conflicts.