Climate change adaptations for WASH

This guidance note provides a practical framework for integrating climate change adaptation into water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programming in humanitarian settings. The publication outlines a step-by-step process for identifying climate hazards, prioritising risks and assessing their impacts on WASH infrastructure, services and affected populations. It emphasizes the importance of considering both current hazards and longer-term climate impacts such as drought, flooding, salinisation, ecosystem change and sea level rise.

The guidance presents a wide range of adaptation measures across water supply, sanitation, hygiene and public health systems. Recommended actions include strengthening water abstraction infrastructure, improving water quality management, increasing storage capacity, adapting sanitation facilities, and enhancing preparedness through early warning systems, contingency planning and capacity development.