Weathering the future: the growing crisis of child displacement in South Asia

For the first time, this report provides country-level estimates of child displacement across all eight countries of South Asia. Across South Asia, millions of children are being uprooted by the accelerating climate crisis. Between 2016 and 2022, an estimated 15.6 million children were displaced by weather-related disasters – the equivalent of more than 6,100 children every single day.

Floods, storms, droughts and heatwaves are forcing families from their homes, disrupting education, health care and protection, and exposing children to heightened risks of exploitation, child labour and child marriage. This report also looks ahead, using disaster risk modelling to project that over 35 million children could be displaced in the next 30 years if urgent action is not taken. These findings offer a critical evidence base to inform policy, programming and advocacy, and to strengthen efforts to protect children on the move in a world impacted by climate change.