Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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October 17, 2025 Economic development
Nearly 80 percent of people living in extreme poverty—887 million of the world's 1.1 billion people—are exposed to extreme climate events such as heat waves, floods, droughts, and air pollution, according to the latest global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
A report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Poverty and Human Development Initiative at Oxford University ahead of Climate Conference (COP30) in Brazil, shows that the climate crisis is fundamentally changing the concept of poverty.
Moreover, according to the report, 651 million people living in extreme poverty face two or more climate risks at once, and 309 million face three or four at the same time.
"Poverty is no longer an isolated socioeconomic problem. On the contrary, it is exacerbated by and intertwined with the growing impacts of the climate crisis," UNDP Administrator-in-Office Haoliang Xu told the UN News Service.
The greatest risks are in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are home to the largest number of the world's poorest people living in areas vulnerable to climate hazards.
In South Asia, the situation is particularly alarming: 99 percent of the region's poor—approximately 380 million people—face at least one climate shock, and 91.6 percent face multiple. Despite significant progress in poverty reduction, the region needs to accelerate its climate change adaptation efforts, UNDP emphasizes.
"Middle-income countries remain the hidden epicenter of multidimensional poverty, home to nearly two-thirds of all poor people. It is in these countries that poverty and the climate crisis are most closely intertwined," noted Sabina Alkire, Director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.
A New Dimension of Inequality
The study found that countries with the highest levels of poverty are already experiencing the strongest climate impacts and will face the worst by the end of the century. an even greater increase in temperatures.
“These findings highlight the need for urgent global action to address inequalities in the impact of climate risks on the poorest,” said Pedro Conceição, Director of the UNDP Human Development Report.
The authors call for a shift from problem recognition to concrete action, prioritizing climate-resilient poverty reduction strategies, strengthening local adaptation mechanisms, and expanding international cooperation and funding.
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