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.”
Where were most people displaced by disasters?
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.
Climate change and conflict ‘converge’ to displace more people
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.”
How can we prevent and support people being displaced by climate change?
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:
- Reduce environmental degradation, improve infrastructures and enforce zoning and building codes to lower the impacts of disasters.
- Make linked-up efforts for disaster preparedness and climate adaptation – from risk monitoring and early warnings to risk insurance and social protection mechanisms.
- Devise policies and programmes that incentivise and support people who want to leave disaster-prone areas but will not or cannot relocate without assistance.
- Develop sustainable solutions for people who have already been displaced by disasters and lack adequate housing, access to services or livelihoods.
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.
