Nearly 900 Million Poor People Face Direct Climate Hazards, UN Report Warns

A staggering 887 million people living in multidimensional poverty — nearly eight out of every ten of the world's 1.1 billion poor — are directly exposed to climate hazards such as extreme heat, floods, droughts, and air pollution, according to the 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

The groundbreaking report, titled "Overlapping Hardships: Poverty and Climate Hazards," was unveiled ahead of the COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil, revealing that poverty and climate vulnerability are increasingly intertwined global crises. By overlaying multidimensional poverty data with climate hazard data for the first time, the MPI paints a comprehensive picture of how environmental and socio-economic deprivations reinforce each other, creating a compounding cycle of disadvantage for hundreds of millions.

"To address global poverty and create a more stable world, we must confront the climate risks endangering nearly 900 million poor people," said Haoliang Xu, UNDP Acting Administrator. "When world leaders meet in Brazil for COP30, their national climate pledges must revitalise development progress that is currently stagnating and leaving the poorest behind."

Intersecting Crises: Poverty Meets Planetary Pressure

The report underscores that the poor are not facing a single environmental challenge, but multiple, overlapping hazards that exacerbate deprivation in health, education, and living standards.

Among those living in acute multidimensional poverty, 651 million people endure two or more concurrent climate hazards, while 309 million face three or four hazards simultaneously, creating what the report describes as a "triple or quadruple burden."

Such overlapping crises often leave poor households — already lacking assets, infrastructure, and social safety nets — unable to recover from repeated climate shocks. These communities are the least responsible for the climate crisis yet bear its harshest consequences.

"This report shows where the climate crisis and poverty are converging," said Sabina Alkire, Director of OPHI and co-author of the report. "Understanding where people are most exposed helps policymakers craft integrated strategies that put human well-being at the heart of climate action."

The Most Widespread Climate Hazards

The analysis identifies extreme heat and air pollution as the most prevalent climate threats to people living in poverty:

• 608 million poor people are exposed to dangerous levels of heat.

• 577 million are exposed to severe air pollution.

• 465 million live in flood-prone regions.

• 207 million experience recurring drought conditions.

These hazards are not merely environmental risks — they have direct consequences on health, livelihoods, food security, and education, deepening poverty and limiting upward mobility. Heat and air pollution contribute to respiratory illnesses and reduced labour productivity, while floods and droughts destroy crops, homes, and local infrastructure.

Regional Hotspots: South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

The burden of overlapping poverty and climate risks is unevenly distributed across the globe. The report identifies South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa as the epicentres of these compounded hardships:

• South Asia accounts for 380 million poor people exposed to climate hazards.

  • An astonishing 99.1% of poor people in the region face at least one hazard.

  • 91.6% (351 million) experience two or more simultaneous hazards.

  • Despite major gains in poverty reduction, the region remains vulnerable to rising temperatures, floods, and cyclones.

• Sub-Saharan Africa follows closely, with 344 million poor people living in climate-affected regions.

  • The region faces a combination of extreme heat, erratic rainfall, and persistent drought, alongside fragile food systems and underdeveloped infrastructure.

Across lower-middle-income countries, the burden is greatest: 548 million poor people are exposed to at least one hazard, and 470 million face multiple concurrent hazards.

Climate Change Threatens Future Development

The report's projections indicate that the countries with the highest current poverty rates are also likely to experience the steepest temperature increases by 2100, threatening decades of development progress.

"The burdens identified are not limited to the present but are expected to intensify in the future," warned Pedro Conceição, Director of the UNDP Human Development Report Office. "Climate change will deepen inequalities and trap millions more in cycles of poverty if urgent, coordinated action is not taken."

These findings confirm that poverty reduction and climate action must go hand in hand. Without addressing the intersecting nature of these crises, development gains risk being undone by escalating climate impacts.

The Path Forward: Climate-Resilient Development

The report calls for urgent, integrated policy responses that simultaneously tackle poverty and environmental vulnerability. Key recommendations include:

• Embedding climate resilience into national poverty reduction and development strategies.

• Expanding social protection systems that can buffer communities against climate shocks.

• Investing in green jobs, clean energy, and sustainable agriculture that reduce emissions while improving livelihoods.

• Enhancing data and analytics to better identify localised climate-poverty hotspots.

• Mobilising global finance and technology transfers, particularly for the most climate-vulnerable nations.

UNDP and OPHI stress that tackling "overlapping hardships" requires a whole-of-society approach, where governments, international institutions, and the private sector align development, environmental, and social objectives.

"Confronting overlapping risks requires moving from recognition to action," the report concludes. "It's not enough to adapt — we must transform the systems that perpetuate vulnerability."

A Turning Point Ahead of COP30

As world leaders prepare for the COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil, the MPI findings serve as a critical wake-up call. They highlight the need to integrate poverty eradication goals into climate negotiations and financing frameworks, ensuring that vulnerable populations are not left behind in the global transition.

The data-driven evidence from the UNDP–Oxford report underscores a sobering truth: climate change is now the defining factor of global poverty. Without decisive international cooperation, hundreds of millions will continue to face overlapping crises — their livelihoods destroyed not by a lack of effort, but by a world system that has failed to protect them.