IFRC Asia Pacific report: ‘Forced to flee in a changing climate’

By the Climate Centre

The IFRC yesterday published a detailed study of Red Cross Red Crescent work to address displacement caused by climate impacts and climate-related disasters in the Asia Pacific region.

Last year alone saw at least 24 million people forced to move by climate impacts, over half of the global total, the report quotes the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre as saying in its 2025 report, “and the situation is expected to worsen”.

Forced to flee in a changing climate highlights the “essential role of National Societies in Asia Pacific in reducing the risks of, and addressing the needs from, displacement in the context of disasters and climate change,” aiming to be “a practical resource for policymakers, practitioners and partners seeking to enhance efforts in this critical space.”

Climate hazards often intersect with geophysical hazards such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis, compounding risk, leaving communities little time to recover, increasing the risk of repeated displacement and worsening living conditions.

But locally led, collective action can help people to adapt, move to safer areas and recover and rebuild with dignity.

‘Hope is found in the strength of communities and in the work of those who stand with them’

The report advocates sustained investment in risk reduction, climate adaptation and early action, alongside robust preparedness measures, targeted humanitarian support and efforts to strengthen sustainable and resilient recovery.

It details case studies from the National Societies of (alphabetically) Australia, Bangladesh, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

“The impacts of displacement do not end with the decision to move. Risks and uncertainties follow people into new, and often precarious places, testing their ability to rebuild and find stability,” says Alexander Matheou, IFRC Regional Director for Asia Pacific, in a foreword. 

“For millions of people across Asia Pacific this is not a distant possibility, it is a daily reality.”

Citing the experience of Tuvalu as an example, where rising seas force decisions about leaving centuries-old homelands, or Mongolian droughts and harsh winters driving herders from the steppes, or the crowded streets of Bangkok where floods push the poorest from already fragile homes, the stories are essentially the same, Matheou adds.

Disasters driven and amplified by climate change are uprooting lives and erasing the familiar, but “hope is found in the strength of communities and in the tireless work of those who stand with them. This report is a call to see what is at stake – and to recognize the possibilities for change.” 

Thai Red Cross Society field-kitchen teams distributed food to families affected by historic floods in the southern city of Nakhon Ratchasima and the surrounding region in late 2010. The Red Cross provided essential relief while working with communities on early warning and preparedness. The photo appears in a new study of Red Cross Red Crescent work to address displacement caused by climate impacts and climate-related disasters in the Asia Pacific region. (File photo: Sunthon Tipayakorn/Thai Red Cross Society)