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	July 2019 was hottest month on record for the planet by NOAA, Climate Action Network, agencies   Aug. 2019   July 2019 was hottest month on record for the planet, reports the American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (NOAA)   Much of the planet sweltered in unprecedented heat in July, as temperatures soared to new heights in the hottest month ever recorded. The record warmth also shrank Arctic and Antarctic sea ice to historic lows.   The average global temperature in July was 1.71 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 60.4 degrees, making it the hottest July in the 140-year record, according to scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. The previous hottest month on record was July 2016.   Nine of the 10 hottest Julys have occurred since 2005 with the last five years ranking as the five hottest. Last month was also the 43rd consecutive July and 415th consecutive month with above-average global temperatures.   The period from January through July produced a global temperature that was 1.71 degrees F above the 20th-century average of 56.9 degrees, tying with 2017 as the second-hottest year to date on record.   It was the hottest year to date for parts of North and South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the southern half of Africa, portions of the western Pacific Ocean, western Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.   Record-low sea ice: Average Arctic sea ice set a record low for July, running 19.8% below average - surpassing the previous historic low of July 2012.   Average Antarctic sea-ice coverage was 4.3% below the 1981-2010 average, making it the smallest for July in the 41-year record.   http://www.noaa.gov/news/july-2019-was-hottest-month-on-record-for-planet   May 2019 (UN News)   Speaking to the people of the Pacific in New Zealand, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlighted four key measures that Governments should prioritize in order to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and realize the common central objective: not to have more than 1.5C degrees of increasing temperature by the end of the century.   The international scientific community, has been very clear that to reach this goal we absolutely need to have carbon neutrality by 2050. For this, he called on nations worldwide to make four pivotal shifts:   Tax pollution, not people   The UN chief called for an emphasis to be placed on taxes on carbon emissions, known as 'carbon pricing', instead of being placed on salaries.   Stop subsidizing fossil fuels   He stressed that taxpayer money should not be used to increase the frequency of hurricanes, the spread of drought and heatwaves, the melting of glaciers and the bleaching of corals.   Stop building new coal plants by 2020   Coal-based power is key according to UN-environment's 2018 Emissions Gap Report: all plants currently in operation are committing the world to around 190 giga tonnes of CO2, and if all coal power plants currently under construction go into operation and run until the end of their technical lifetime, emissions will increase by another 150 giga tonnes, jeopardizing our ability to limit global warming by 2C as agreed upon in the 2015 Paris Agreement.   Focus on a green economy not a grey economy   'It is very important that the business community and Governments understand that the green economy is the economy of the future and the grey economy has no future', said Mr. Guterres. 'It's very important to convince governments that they must act because there's still a lot of resistance'.   'Governments are still afraid to move forward', he explained 'yet the costs of inaction are much bigger than any costs of climate action'. 'Nature does not negotiate', he added.   'Climate disruption is happening now, and it is happening to all of us', he warned. 'It is progressing even faster than the world's top scientists have predicted'.   The UN chief lamented that it is 'outpacing our efforts to address it' with each week bringing new climate-related devastation from floods, droughts, heatwaves, wildfires and superstorms.   Because of climate change, all around the world, people are losing their homes and being forced to migrate, he informed the meeting, adding that the situation 'will only get worse unless we act now with ambition and urgency'.   Just last week, reports surfaced that 'Himalayan glaciers are melting at double the rate since the turn of this century', threatening water supplies throughout Central, South and East Asia, said Mr. Guterres.   'Arctic permafrost is melting decades earlier than even worst-case scenarios, threatening to unlock vast amounts of the powerful greenhouse gas methane. It is plain to see that we have no time to lose', Mr. Guterres said. 'Sadly, it is not yet plain to all the decision makers that run our world'.   Even more worrying, he continued, 'is that many countries are not even keeping pace with their promises under the Paris Agreement.   Keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees will require rapid and far-reaching transitions in how we manage land, energy, industry, buildings, transport and cities', he stressed.   http://www.ipcc.ch/   May 2019   We don't have 12 years to jump-start action on climate change -- we have just one, writes Helen Mountford.   On Friday, countless young people will flood the streets of the world's major cities, demanding action to tackle climate change. The global movement stems from the stark reality that the window to addressing this emergency is closing. At the front of these demonstrations, there is frequently a banner warning that there are just "12 years to save the Earth."   If political leaders finally respond to the climate crisis, we may well have these youthful advocates to thank. But there is a problem with this timeline: We don't have 12 years to jump-start action on climate change -- we have just one.   According to a seminal report featured in the journal Nature, global greenhouse gas emissions must peak no later than next year and rapidly decline thereafter for us to have a good chance of preventing increasingly severe consequences from the climate crisis -- everything from imperiled croplands, flooded communities and widespread disease. Delaying any longer will push us toward an ecological tipping point, with no way for humanity to claw its way back out.   Next year is also a critical point because it is when country leaders agreed to put forward new climate plans when they adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015. They knew that the climate action commitments in Paris would not be enough, and so they agreed to come back in five years to step up their efforts. We will soon find out if prime ministers and presidents will stand by their word. Collectively, these revised plans will point humanity to a future that is either bright or bleak. Right now, the picture looks bleak.   Deforestation is increasing, with 12 million hectares of tropical forest chopped down last year. Coal plants are still being built in at least 30 nations. Every year, countries prop up the coal, oil and gas industries with more than $5.2 trillion in subsidies, tax breaks and unaccounted costs of fossil fuel use in 2017. Ford sold nearly 1.1 million F-150 trucks last year (one every 29.3 seconds) even though the pickup gets a paltry 19 miles per gallon.   Earlier this month atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations hit 415 parts per million for the first time in human history; the last time levels were that high was during the Pliocene Epoch when there were trees at the South Pole and sea levels were 20 meters higher than they are now.   I could go on. Clearly, the world is not yet making the urgent and unprecedented changes needed to halt global warming.   In a landmark UN climate report released last year, scientists found that a global temperature rise of just 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) over preindustrial levels would greatly increase the risk of drought, floods and extreme heat, and food supplies would be in jeopardy even as the global population steadily rises. Every iota of warming leads to even more catastrophic consequences.   No one expected the national climate plans submitted in 2015 to solve the problem. In fact, even if all the Paris commitments are realized, global temperatures would still be on track to rise 2.7 to 3.7 degrees C (4.9 to 6.7 degrees F) in the next century.   Climate change is humanity's largest challenge; it would be sheer hubris to think we would fix it in one fell swoop. The beauty of the pact is that it calls for countries to come back to the table every five years -- in 2020, 2025 and so on -- with new plans informed by the latest advances in high-tech, science and shifting markets.   Economic, technological and market trends since 2015 provide a compelling case for countries to strengthen their climate plans next year. And there are signs that some industries are making environmentally friendly shifts. Renewable energy is now cheaper than fossil fuels nearly everywhere. More affordable energy-storage options are making wind and solar attractive options, even when the wind doesn't blow and the sun sets. Plummeting battery prices are expected to make electric cars cheaper than gas cars just three years from now. And the F-150 pickup? Ford is planning for it to go electric and a number of leading car manufacturers are following suit.   In recent years the very concept of climate action has shifted from a potential burden to a major economic opportunity as countries compete in the race for the $26 trillion in benefits from bold climate action between now and 2030.   To prepare for the major moment of truth in 2020, world leaders are gathering at the UN Climate Action Summit in September in New York. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has set a clear benchmark for success by challenging countries to present concrete plans to strengthen their climate commitments and make them compatible with the Paris goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C.   This summit is a wake-up call for heads of state, ministers, mayors and business leaders to get ready to up their game. It is also an opportunity to show the rising generation of climate activists how this time world leaders will keep their promises. Now is the time to jump-start climate action and get on a path to a brighter future. Countries have just one year to step forward with bigger, bolder commitments that respond to the scale of the climate crisis. Our children are in the streets demanding a world worth living in.   * Helen Mountford is vice president for climate and economics at the World Resources Institute. Helen was previously the deputy director of environment for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, featured on CNN: http://cnn.it/2MkfMHD   http://www.wri.org/blog/2018/10/half-degree-and-world-apart-difference-climate-impacts-between-15-c-and-2-c-warming http://www.nature.com/news/three-years-to-safeguard-our-climate-1.22201   May 2019   Young people have led the climate strikes. Now we need adults to join us too - youth activists for Fridays for Future   Tomorrow, schoolchildren and students will be out on the streets again, in huge numbers, in 150 countries, at over 4,000 events, demanding that governments immediately provide a safe pathway to stay within 1.5C of global heating.   We spent weeks and months preparing for this day. We spent uncountable hours organising and mobilising when we could have just hung out with our friends or studied for school.   We don't feel like we have a choice: it's been years of talking, countless negotiations, empty deals on climate change and fossil fuel companies being given free rides to drill beneath our soils and burn away our futures for their profit.   Politicians have known about climate change for decades. They have willingly handed over their responsibility for our future to profiteers whose search for quick cash threatens our very existence.   We have learned that if we don't start acting for our future, nobody else will make the first move. We are the ones we've been waiting for.   Once again our voices are being heard on the streets, but it is not just up to us. We feel a lot of adults haven't quite understood that we young people won't hold off the climate crisis ourselves. Sorry if this is inconvenient for you. But this is not a single-generation job. It's humanity's job. We young people can contribute to a larger fight and that can make a huge difference.   So this is our invitation. Starting on Friday 20 September we will kickstart a week of climate action with a worldwide strike for the climate. We're asking adults to step up alongside us. There are many different plans under way in different parts of the world for adults to join together and step up and out of your comfort zone for our climate.   Let's all join together, with your neighbours, co-workers, friends, family and go out on to the streets to make your voices heard and make this a turning point in our history.   This is about crossing lines - it's about rebelling wherever one can rebel. It's not about saying 'Yeah, what the kids do is great, if I was young I would have totally joined in'. It doesn't help, but everyone can and must help.   During the French revolution mothers flooded the streets for their children. Today we children are fighting for ourselves, but so many of our parents are busy discussing whether our grades are good, or a new diet or what happened in the Game of Thrones finale - while the planet burns.   This moment has to happen. Last year's UN intergovernmental panel on climate change's special report on global warming was clear about the unprecedented dangers of going beyond 1.5C of global heating. Emissions must drop rapidly - so that by the time we are in our mid- and late-20s we are living in a completely transformed world.   But to change everything, we need everyone. We have shown that collective action does work. We need to escalate the pressure to make sure that change happens, and we must escalate together.   People have risen up before to demand action and make change; if we do so in numbers we have a chance. If we care, we must do more than say we do. We must act. This won't be the last day we need to take to the streets, but it will be a new beginning. We're counting on you'.   * Greta Thunberg, Kyra Gantois, Luisa Neubauer, Eslem Demirel, Vanessa Nakate, Noga Levy-Rappoport, Isra Hirsi, Zhang Tingwei, Angela Valenzuela, Martial Breton, Nurul Fitrah Marican, Asees Kandhari, Jessica Dewhurst, Alexandria Villasenor, Jonas Kampus, George Bond, Kallan Benson, Linus Dolder, Beth Irving, Zel Whiting, Marenthe Middelhoff, Lubna Wasim, Radhika Castle, Parvez Patel, Wu Chun-Hei, Anjali Pant, Tristan Vanoni, Luca Salis, Brian Wallang, Anisha George, Hiroto Inoue, Haven Coleman, Maddy Fernands, Bhavreen Malhotra Kandhari, Feliquan Charlemagne, Karla Stephan, Anya Sastry, Claudio Ramirez Betancourt, Vicente Gamboa Soto, Julia Weder, Lilly Platt, Balder Claassen, Kassel Hingee, Maria Astefanoaei and Pavol Mulinka are youth activists for Fridays for Future   http://www.fridaysforfuture.org/ http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/06/greta-thunberg-and-fridays-for-future-win-ambassador-of-conscience-2019-award/ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/school-climate-strikes http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/11185-Youth-should-be-leading-Asia-s-climate-change-movement   * IPCC Summary (34pp): http://bit.ly/2y7hz9b http://lp.panda.org/ipbes   Mar. 2019   Civil society stands in solidarity with 'Fridays For Future' global student strikes   Decades of dependence on a carbon-based economy has produced grave injustices on a global scale. Our children, grandchildren and the many vulnerable communities and species on the planet now have to carry the burden of a crisis that they have not caused.   The youth are forced to act like grown-ups. Faced with government inaction despite the stark warnings from scientists to act, young people chose to leave school to confront a system that failed us all, but particularly those with the least power.   Years of empty promises to address the climate emergency have created intergenerational mistrust. Our children and grandchildren don't trust us as adults, citizens, business people and politicians. Around the world, young people are taking to the streets to reclaim a safe future.   They are not alone in this fight. They have inspired us to join them in saying: no, our future is not for sale and governments must ensure that fossil fuels are kept in the ground. We will exert all efforts to guarantee their victory.   This newly generated grassroots power is putting the last nail in the coffin of the fossil fuel industry and advocating for true, rights- and evidence-based solutions to climate change.   It is essential that governments act on climate and work with vulnerable communities to protect them from dangerous warming while we ensure ecosystems can thrive and restore. The science is clear we must move faster to avoid catastrophe by decarbonizing the economy, cutting emissions by half by 2030 to reach zero emissions by 2050.   We, the members of civil society, stand in solidarity with students worldwide demanding climate justice. We shall relentlessly support their effort until they meet the success of their struggle through concrete government action to resolve the climate emergency.   Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, leader of WWF's global climate and energy practice said:   'We should all be showing solidarity with the inspiring actions being taken by young people all over the world. Whether it is the school strikes and street marches demanding climate action, or young people who are suing their governments over climate change, the youth are demanding that we stop stealing their future. As Swedish youth activist Greta Thunberg said at COP24, 'we are running out of time. Change is coming whether you like it or not.' It is young people like her that are challenging us to show that change is possible, and we must rise to the challenge'.   May Boeve, Executive Director 350.org said:   'The thing with the climate crisis, that these children know is: it's not going anywhere. Change is coming whether we like it or not, so we have to face up to the choices we can make in order to avoid the worst case scenarios of climate change. We can shape those changes to benefit our communities and humanity as a whole. The time to do so is now. We should not have needed our children to take to the streets to realise that. But it has come to that. So right now, we need to join these young people. The real impact begins when we (adults) use our power, join in and don't just applaud from the sidelines'.   Josianne Gauthier, Secretary General, CIDSE Together for Global Justice said:   'As leaders within civil society, used to speaking with decision-makers, we need to stand by and march along with the young people who have taken to the streets. It's a matter of coherence, intergenerational justice, and legitimacy. We must allow ourselves to be swept up in the real emotion of their impatience and their hope. They are reminding us that talk is not enough, and that action, and sometimes reaction is required. The change is here and they are leading it. For once, we just need to listen and do what is right'.   Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, National Organizer and Spokesperson, Young Evangelicals for Climate Action said:   'Kids shouldn't have to worry about whether they'll have a safe and productive world when they grow up. Yet decades of inexcusable political intransigence and cynical pursuit of profit from the adults in the room have left them no choice. In the age of climate change, we can add our children's innocence to the laundry list of sacrifices offered on the altar of greed. The moral clarity if these courageous children is a gift. When few others are, they are leading with energy, creativity, and hope, and they deserve our full support. Their actions honor God the Creator, they honor their neighbors hard hit by climate impacts, and they honor themselves and generations to come. May our leaders have the courage to see them and to respond. May we all have the courage to see them and to respond'.   Bridget Burns, Director, Women's Environment and Development Organization, said:   'WEDO stands in solidarity with the thousands of inspiring young people, in all their diversity and from all over the world, as they continue their unwavering quest for environmental justice. The current state of the climate crisis and its impacts are a clear threat to the future of humanity and our planet, and as advocates for environmental integrity, we proudly join these fearless, powerful voices - including many amazing young women leaders - as they continue to push for real action from governments and decision-makers at the frontlines. We must continue to collectively rise up across all generations, and vigorously fight for change'.   Caroline Kende-Robb, Executive Director for CARE International, said:   'The worsening impacts of climate change threaten us all, especially the next generation. Will leaders act now or continue to ignore the climate crisis as youth protests and school walkouts ripple across the globe? CARE joins their fight and Greta Thunberg's criticism of leaders inaction on climate change. Our children have made climate action a priority, and we must heed their call'.   Sanjeev Kumar, CEO & Founder of Change Partnership, said:   'Young people around the world are highlighting the grave injustice of inadequate action and empty rhetoric which has blighted meaningful action on climate change for decades. We stand with them in the struggle to stop polluters polluting and defending the rights of victims everywhere'.   Nouhad Awwad, National Coordinator, Arab Youth Climate Movement-Lebanon, said:   'AYCM as a grassroots movement run by youth urge policymakers to take immediate actions to raise climate ambitions. We will be protesting in Lebanon on the 15th of March to say that our children in schools deserve a better future. School strikes are an awareness tool for our fellow people and an alert for leaders to go in line with the Paris Agreement. Greta Thunberg said 'We will have to go for a very, very long time', I think and we are ready to go with her in the climate action road'.   Wendel Trio, Director of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, said:   'The strikes make it clear to leaders that they need to take ambitious and immediate action. EU leaders meeting next week simply cannot ignore this powerful call to address the climate crisis. They need to work towards taking a decision on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero as soon as possible, and massively scaling up emission cuts by 2030. If leaders harness the momentum for more climate action that the youth create, we will still be able to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change'.   Carroll Muffett, President, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), said:   'Children around the world are standing up and speaking out on climate change because they must. Their rights, their lives and their future are at stake - as are the rights, lives, and future of all of us. While the US President tweets climate denial, the Speaker of the House dismisses the Green New Deal as a dream, and the countries and companies most responsible for climate change embrace inertia over ambition, children around the world are taking action. They are leaving classrooms, entering courtrooms, and taking to the streets. That is where they belong until the world takes the urgent and meaningful climate action that is needed. It's where we all belong. CIEL is proud to stand in solidarity with their efforts and follow their leadership. We urge those in office or seeking office to do the same'.   Hannah Mowat, Campaigns Coordinator, Fern, said:   "Today Fern's offices are closed in solidarity with the tens of thousands of young people who are taking to the streets to protest against politicians frightening lack of action on climate change. Their demand is simple: governments must act on the irrefutable science, and that science is clear: without forest protection and restoration, climate change will be impossible to stop'.   Nick Mabey, CEO, E3G (Third Generation Environmentalism), said:   'Politicians have a duty to represent everyone's interests not just those who vote for them. They must listen to the unprecedented voice of young people who are striking so that for their future has its rightful place at the decision-making table. Politicians should also realise that they and their parties are now under scrutiny by the next generation of voters, who will remember who stood up for their rights and their safety in this critical time'.   Floris Faber, Director, ACT Alliance Advocacy to the European Union, said:   "Youth are leading the way, and the world should follow suit. Climate change is a devastating threat to us all. This is especially true for poor and vulnerable communities, who are already facing the effects of climate change. Severe droughts, floods and destructive hurricanes are jeopardizing the development we all want to see. The multilateral response on climate change must include both transition towards a green and sustainable economy, and urgent support for adaptation, to increase communities resilience. There is no time to waste!"   David Howell, Climate and Energy lead at SEO/BirdLife in Spain, said:   'Our youth are our future, and their protests are showing us the path we need to follow to guarantee them their future, in what is their century. Across Spain the number of planned student protests has increased tenfold in two weeks, and we expect more in the coming weeks and months. Their message is crystal clear and should be at the forefront of the thinking of any serious politician in a key election year for Spain. In purely selfish terms, a political party which wants the support of younger voters must have a clear, coherent and ambitious programme for the future of the economy in the fight against climate change'.   Jagoda Munic, Director of Friends of the Earth Europe, said:   'The young people on strike today speak with the authenticity of those whose lives will be dominated by climate breakdown, a crisis they did not cause. Climate change still feels distant to many - but it is close to home for the youth taking action today. Their demands for real, massive and immediate action for a fossil-free society must be heard. Friends of the Earth gives them our full support. If decision makers were to act in line with youth climate strikers demands, they would be tripling our renewable energy goals, shutting off trade deals with climate deniers, and switching finance off fossil fuels to the fossil-free future we need'.   Oyvind Eggen, Director for Rainforest Foundation Norway, said:   'All parent generations have called for the younger generations to take responsibility, and history tells us they do. We are in a unique moment in history when the young ones not only take responsibility for their own time and their future, but also struggle to compensate for several previous generations wrongdoing. It is sad for the elder generations that they have to, but extremely encouraging to see that they are picking up the fight. And it is a very strong message to our generation: To make it possible at all for the young to take responsibility for the world, we must stop emissions now and save the remaining rainforests, so we have something to hand over to them'.   Alden Meyer, Director of Strategy and Policy Union of Concerned Scientists, said:   'We stand in solidarity with student climate strikers around the world, and support their demand that our political leaders address the climate crisis with the urgency and focused action that the science so clearly requires. We are inspired by their moral clarity, and are hopeful that their actions will help drive the transformational changes that are needed to come to grips with the climate crisis'.   Sanjay Vashist, Director, Climate Action Network South Asia, said:   'Future leaders of this world refuse to watch the destruction of planet. Climate change today threatens the sustainable needs of the present and future generations. These needs should be dealt with urgency, but leaders today are driven by vested interests and have failed in decision making. Strikes by school students is among the most effective ways to demand for a secure future for the next generation that can only be ensured by today's leaders'.   Nithi Nesadurai, Regional Coordinator, Climate Action Network Southeast Asia, said:   'We fully empathise with the strike actions of school students. They have been completely let down by our political leaders, at the global and national levels, entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding their future against climate change. As current leaders have wholly failed in their duty and still do not display any sign of urgency this crisis demands, it is only natural that students fill the vacuum created by seizing the leadership on addressing climate change which forecasts a bleak future for them in particular. We salute the students vision and determination and hope their actions are finally able to break the impasse and lethargy displayed by current leaders and bring about the dynamic changes required to tackle the climate crisis head-on'.   http://www.climatenetwork.org/press-release/civil-society-stands-solidarity-fridays-future-global-student-strikes http://reliefweb.int/report/mozambique/mozambique-cyclones-are-wake-call-says-wmo http://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-platform-disaster-risk-reduction-we-need-drastic-change-course   # OCHA Reliefweb: Climate Change and Environment updates: http://bit.ly/2KNWRDM Visit the related web page
	More people displaced inside their own countries than ever before by UNHCR, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre   June 2019   The world now has a population of 70.8 million forcibly displaced people. (UNHCR)   Yet again, wars, violence and persecution have driven record numbers of people from their homes worldwide, according to the latest annual study released today by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.   The yearly Global Trends report found that 70.8 million children, women and men were forcibly displaced at the close of 2018, the highest number in the organization's almost 70-year history.   Worryingly, this global figure is probably on the low side. The crisis in Venezuela, in particular, is still only partly reflected in the total. In all, some four million Venezuelans have left their country, making this one of the world's biggest current displacement crises.   The increased global figure gives further confirmation of a longer-term rising trend in the number of people around the world needing safety from war, conflict and persecution, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.   Grandi stressed that while language around refugees and migrants is often divisive, not all is bleak. He noted an 'outpouring of generosity and solidarity', especially by communities who are themselves hosting large numbers of refugees.   'We must redouble our solidarity with the many thousands of innocent people who are forced to flee their homes each day'.   The global population of forcibly displaced people grew substantially from 43.3 million in 2009 to 70.8 million in 2018, reaching a record high. Most of this increase was between 2012 and 2015, driven mainly by the Syrian conflict. But conflicts in other areas also contributed to this rise, including Iraq, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan, as well as the massive flow of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh at the end of 2017.   The refugee population under UNHCR's mandate has nearly doubled since 2012. In 2018, the increase was driven particularly by internal displacement in Ethiopia and asylum-seekers fleeing Venezuela. The proportion of the world's population who were displaced also continued to rise, as the world's forcibly displaced population grew faster than the global population.   13.6 million forced to flee in 2018   Large numbers of people were on the move in 2018. During the year, 13.6 million people were newly displaced, including 2.8 million who sought protection abroad (as new asylum-seekers or newly registered refugees) and 10.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs), who were forced to flee but remained in their own countries. This means that on every day of 2018, an average of 37,000 people were newly displaced. Many returned to their countries or areas of origin to try to rebuild their lives, including 2.3 million IDPs and nearly 600,000 refugees.   Some 1.6 million Ethiopians made up the largest newly displaced population during the year, 98 per cent of them within their country. This increase more than doubled the existing internally displaced population in the country.   Syrians were the next largest newly displaced population, with 889,400 people during 2018. Of these, 632,700 were newly displaced/registered outside the country, while the remainder were internally displaced. Nigeria also had a high number of newly displaced people with 661,800, of which an estimated 581,800 were displaced within the country's borders.   Most displaced people remained close to home   The vast majority of newly displaced people remained close to home. For example, most Syrians fled to Turkey, where there were half a million new refugee registrations and asylum applications. Most of those forced to flee South Sudan went to Sudan or Uganda, and those displaced from DRC also headed to Uganda.   At the end of 2018, Syrians still made up the largest forcibly displaced population, with 13.0 million people living in displacement, including 6.7 million refugees, 6.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) and 140,000 asylum-seekers.   Colombians were the second largest group, with 8.0 million forcibly displaced, most of them (98 per cent) inside their country at the end of 2018. A total of 5.4 million Congolese from DRC were also forcibly displaced, of whom 4,517,000 were IDPs and 854,000 were refugees or asylum-seekers. Other large displaced populations of IDPs, refugees or asylum-seekers at the end of 2018 were from Afghanistan (5.1 million), South Sudan (4.2 million), Somalia (3.7 million), Ethiopia (2.8 million), Sudan (2.7 million), Nigeria (2.5 million), Iraq (2.4 million) and Yemen (2.2 million).   The situation in Cameroon was complex as it was both a source country and host country of refugees and asylum-seekers, along with multiple internal displacements in 2018. In total, there were 45,100 Cameroonian refugees globally at the end of 2018. Nigeria hosted 100 at the beginning of 2018 compared to 32,800 by the end of the year. This is in addition to 668,500 IDPs. At the same time, Cameroon hosted 380,300 refugees, mainly from the Central African Republic (CAR) and Nigeria.   http://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends2018/ http://www.nrc.no/shorthand/fr/70.8-million-displaced-people/index.html http://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends2019/ http://www.unhcr.org/emergencies.html http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/news/latest/2020/6/5eeba28c4/resolving-displacement-critical-regional-international-stability-un-refugee.html http://www.unhcr.org/stories.html   More people displaced inside their own countries than ever before reports the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre   A record 41.3 million people are displaced inside their own countries because of conflict and violence, according to a new report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).   The number of people living in internal displacement worldwide as of the end of 2018 is the highest it has ever been, according to the Global Report on Internal Displacement, launched today at the United Nations in Geneva. This is an increase of more than a million since the end of 2017 and two-thirds more than the global number of refugees.   The record figure is the result of years of cyclical and protracted displacement, and high levels of new displacement between January and December 2018. IDMC recorded 28 million new internal displacements associated with conflict, generalised violence and disasters in 2018.   Ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Syria, and a rise in intercommunal tensions in Ethiopia, Cameroon and Nigeria's Middle Belt region triggered most of the 10.8 million new displacements linked to conflict and violence. Internally displaced people (IDPs) who tried to return to their homes in Iraq, Nigeria and Syria during the year found their property destroyed, infrastructure damaged and basic services non-existent.   'This year's report is a sad reminder of the recurrence of displacement, and of the severity and urgency of IDPs needs. Many of the same factors that drove people from their homes now prevent them from returning or finding solutions in the places they have settled', said Alexandra Bilak, IDMC's director.   Extreme weather events were responsible for the majority of the 17.2 million new displacements associated with disasters in 2018. Tropical cyclones and monsoon floods led to mass displacement in the Philippines, China and India, mostly in the form of evacuations. California suffered the most destructive wildfires in its history, which displaced hundreds of thousands of people.   A number of countries were affected by both conflict and disasters. Drought in Afghanistan triggered more displacement than the country's armed conflict, and the crisis in north-eastern Nigeria was aggravated by flooding that affected 80 per cent of the country.   'The findings of this report are a wake-up call to world leaders. Millions of people forced to flee their homes last year are being failed by ineffective national governance and insufficient international diplomacy. Because they haven't crossed a border, they receive pitiful global attention', said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council. 'All displaced people have a right to protection and the international community has a duty to ensure it'.   The report shows that internal displacement is an increasingly urban phenomenon. Warfare in cities such as Dara'a in Syria, Hodeidah in Yemen and Tripoli in Libya accounted for much of the displacement recorded in the Middle East in 2018. Urban centres such as Dhaka in Bangladesh are also the preferred destination for many people fleeing the effects of climate change.   Such influxes present great challenges for cities and can aggravate existing risk factors. People who fled fighting in rural areas of Afghanistan and Somalia faced abject poverty, tenure insecurity and onward displacement from flooding and evictions in Kabul and Mogadishu.   New ways of dealing with the issue are emerging in cities from Medellin in Colombia to Mosul in Iraq, where local governments and communities have taken the lead.   'The fact that cities have become sanctuary to more and more internally displaced people represents a challenge for municipal authorities, but also an opportunity. Leveraging the positive role that local government can play in finding solutions to displacement will be key to addressing this challenge in the future', said Alexandra Bilak.   * The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is the world's authoritative source of data and analysis on internal displacement.   http://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/grid2019/ http://www.nrc.no/shorthand/fr/the-worlds-most-neglected-displacement-crises/index.html http://www.internal-displacement.org/expert-opinion/waking-up-to-the-millions-of-people-displaced-within-their-own-countries http://www.internal-displacement.org/media-centres/internal-displacement-in-africa-has-reached-unprecedented-levels Visit the related web page
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