Overlapping Hardships: Poverty and climate hazards

The 2024 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report “Overlapping Hardships: Poverty and Climate Hazards” released in October 2025 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford/UK paints grim picture. Nearly 8 in 10 people living in multidimensional poverty – 887 million out of 1.1 billion globally – are directly exposed to climate hazards such as extreme heat, flooding, drought or air pollution.

Climate hazards exacerbate poverty and disadvantages 

The report presents new evidence that the climate crisis is reshaping global poverty. The findings reveal a world where poverty is not just a standalone socio-economic issue but one that is deeply interlinked with planetary pressures and instability.

Exposure to climate hazards likely exacerbates the daily challenges faced by people living in poverty, reinforcing and deepening their disadvantages. The report finds that among those assessed to be living in acute multidimensional poverty – spanning health, education and living standards – an overwhelming 651 million endure two or more climate hazards, while 309 million face three or four hazards simultaneously.

Individually, the most widespread hazards affecting poor people globally are high heat (608 million) and air pollution (577 million). Flood-prone regions are home to 465 million poor people, while 207 million live in areas affected by drought.

Who bears the greatest burden of climate risks? 

South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are identified as global hotspots for these compounded hardships, accounting for the largest numbers of poor people living in regions affected by climate hazards (380 million and 344 million respectively).

In South Asia, the exposure is nearly universal; fully 99.1 per cent of poor people in the region are exposed to one or more climate shocks (380 million people), with 91.6 per cent (351 million) facing two or more, much higher than any other world region. Despite making momentous and historic strides in poverty reduction, South Asia must also accelerate climate action.

Across income groups, lower-middle-income countries bear the greatest burden of exposure of poor people to climate hazards, both in terms of absolute number and high proportion. About 548 million poor people in lower-middle-income countries are estimated to be exposed to at least one climate hazard, representing 61.8 per cent of global poor people who are exposed to any climate hazard. Critically, over 470 million poor people in lower-middle-income countries confront two or more, concurrent climate hazards simultaneously.

Unequal burden of climate-related hazards likely to increase

“The burdens identified are not limited to the present but are expected to intensify in the future,” says Pedro Conceição, Director of the Human Development Report Office, UNDP. Analysis of temperature projection data reveals that countries with higher current levels of multidimensional poverty are predicted to experience the greatest increases in temperatures by the end of this century.

These findings highlight the urgent need for global action to address the unequal burden of climate-related hazards on people living in multidimensional poverty. Confronting these overlapping risks requires moving from recognition to action, emphasising the need for climate-resilient poverty reduction strategies, strengthened local capacities for adaptation, and scaled international redistribution and cooperative finance mechanisms. 

(UNDP/ile)

Read more and download the 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report “Overlapping Hardships: Poverty and Climate Hazards” on the UNDP website