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.

The 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), titled "Overlapping Hardships: Poverty and Climate Hazards" and released just ahead of COP30 climate summit in Brazil, presents critical new evidence of how the climate crisis is reshaping global poverty. By overlaying climate hazard data with multidimensional poverty data for the first time, 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.

"Our new research shows that to address global poverty and create a more stable world for everyone, 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 the Climate Conference, COP30, next month, their national climate pledges must revitalize the stagnating development progress that threatens to leave the world's poorest people behind."

The burden of concurrent poverty and climate hazards
The findings emphasize that poor people globally are often confronting multiple, concurrent environmental challenges rather than a single one in isolation.

• Of the 887 million poor people exposed to at least one climate hazard, 651 million face two or more concurrent hazards.

• Alarmingly, 309 million poor people live in regions exposed to three or four overlapping climate hazards while experiencing acute multidimensional poverty. These individuals face a "triple or quadruple burden," often possessing limited assets and minimal access to social protection systems, amplifying the negative effects of the shocks.

• 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.

"This report shows where the climate crisis and poverty are notably converging. Understanding where the planet is under greatest strain and where people face additional burdens created by climate challenges is essential to creating mutually reinforcing development strategies that put humanity at the center of climate action," said co-author, Sabina Alkire, Director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.