People Exposed to Climate Change: December 2025-February 2026

Between December 2025 and February 2026, climate change significantly boosted global temperatures, with over one in six people experiencing strong climate influence daily. Nearly 228 million people faced 30 or more risky heat days added by climate change, with 81% of these individuals residing in Africa. The analysis highlights that in 45 countries, all risky heat days during this period were driven by climate change, and 124 countries saw the average person experience at least 30 days of strong climate influence (CSI level 2 or higher).

• Every day from December 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026, approximately 1.4 billion people, or 17% of the global population, experienced temperatures made at least twice as likely due to climate change (CSI level 2 or higher). Exposure peaked on February 13, 14, and 21, when over 3 billion people (about 42% of the global population) were affected.
• Climate change was the sole driver of all risky heat days (temperatures above the 90th percentile of 1991-2020 observations) in 45 countries during the three-month period. On average across 174 cities that had at least one risky heat day, climate change drove 88% of those days.
• Nearly 228 million people experienced 30 or more days of risky heat added by climate change. The vast majority of this population, 185 million people (81%), live in Africa. Nigeria had the highest number of exposed people, with 103.6 million (99% of its population) experiencing 30+ days of risky heat added by climate change.
• In 124 countries, the average person experienced at least 30 days with temperatures strongly influenced by climate change (CSI 2 or higher). In 58 countries, this exposure lasted at least 60 days, with Palau, Réunion, and Suriname experiencing the highest levels at 85 or more days.
• Urban areas showed significant vulnerability, with 276 of 960 analyzed global cities seeing the average person experience at least 30 days of strong climate influence. Among 20 global megacities, four (with a combined population over 56 million) endured 30 or more such days, including Lagos, Mexico City, Kinshasa, and Sao Paulo.
• In the United States, the average person in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Arizona, California, Nevada, and New Mexico experienced at least 30 days of unusually warm temperatures made at least twice as likely by climate change. Wyoming recorded the highest temperature anomaly, averaging 9.3°F (5.2°C) above average.
• Climate-driven extremes beyond temperature included an early Australian heat wave, record warmth in Greenland's January, and wildfires in Patagonia that killed 23 people. Other impacts included severe drought in Kenya (the driest season since 1981), deadly snowfall in Japan, and fatal floods in Morocco and Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand.

APA

Bourassa, B., Brush, H., DeFonza, R., Dahl, K., Veitch, A., & Martin, M. (2026). People Exposed to Climate Change: December 2025-February 2026. Climate Central. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/2ooKExIans3PBmtGPVOomg/7a083eeba40b8a3cdfdbab4e2f3a1d87/People_Exposed_to_Climate_Change__December_2025-February_2026.pdf

Chicago

Bourassa, Brandon, Helen Brush, Raina DeFonza, Kristina Dahl, Abbie Veitch, and Megan Martin. People Exposed to Climate Change: December 2025-February 2026. Climate Central, 2026. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/2ooKExIans3PBmtGPVOomg/7a083eeba40b8a3cdfdbab4e2f3a1d87/People_Exposed_to_Climate_Change__December_2025-February_2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bourassa |first1=Brandon |last2=Brush |first2=Helen |last3=DeFonza |first3=Raina |last4=Dahl |first4=Kristina |last5=Veitch |first5=Abbie |last6=Martin |first6=Megan |title=People Exposed to Climate Change: December 2025-February 2026 |publisher=Climate Central |date=18 March 2026 |url=https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/2ooKExIans3PBmtGPVOomg/7a083eeba40b8a3cdfdbab4e2f3a1d87/People_Exposed_to_Climate_Change__December_2025-February_2026.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bourassa2026people, author = {Bourassa, Brandon and Brush, Helen and DeFonza, Raina and Dahl, Kristina and Veitch, Abbie and Martin, Megan}, title = {{People Exposed to Climate Change: December 2025-February 2026}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/2ooKExIans3PBmtGPVOomg/7a083eeba40b8a3cdfdbab4e2f3a1d87/People_Exposed_to_Climate_Change__December_2025-February_2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }