Up to 2.8 billion people worldwide could be exposed to heatwaves by 2090 under a high-warming scenario, implying a global temperature rise of 3–4 degrees Celsius (5.4-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
"Up to 2.8 billion people could be exposed to heatwaves by 2090 under a high-warming scenario, more than double that in a low-warming scenario [...] The low and high warming scenarios represent different future trajectories in greenhouse gas concentrations, leading to a global temperature rise of likely below 2°C and of 3–4°C by 2100, respectively," the IOM said.
In addition, almost half of the people potentially exposed to heatwaves in the future are expected to live in Southern Asia, a region especially prone to climate-related displacements over the past decade, the organization said.
Other risks associated with global warming include floods, droughts, crop failures, wildfires and tropical cyclones, it said. By 2090, up to 39 million people are projected to be exposed to river floods under the high-warming scenario, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, the IOM added.
"There is no consensus yet on how global human mobility will respond to the impacts of climate change," IOM data and research analyst Robert Beyer said.
However, as climate change has already contributed significantly to migration worldwide, obtaining more precise data is crucial for taking action to minimize its consequences, he added.