96 million people in 18 countries affected in 2024, 24 million more than the previous year. 393 natural disasters recorded, impacting 167 million people.
CESVI’s appeal ahead of COP30: “The climate crisis is eroding the very foundations of food security. Immediate large-scale action is needed against the environmental crisis — one of the main drivers of global famines — before this humanitarian emergency becomes an irreversible catastrophe for millions.”
Extreme weather conditions, particularly droughts and floods, have pushed more than 96 million people in 18 countries into acute food insecurity over the past year. This figure has more than tripled compared to 28.7 million in 2018 (+234%), and increased sharply compared to 71.9 million in 2023 (+33%), marking an unprecedented deterioration of the global climate and food crisis.
The warning comes from CESVI, which — ahead of COP30 in Belém — highlights alarming data from the 2025 Global Hunger Index (GHI), published in Italy by CESVI and produced by Welthungerhilfe (WHH), Concern Worldwide, and the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV).
“The 2025 GHI data clearly show how extreme weather events are dramatically amplifying food insecurity, affecting millions of already vulnerable people,” said Stefano Piziali, CESVI’s General Manager. “It is essential to immediately implement effective climate resilience policies, support investment in sustainable food systems, and ensure adequate funding for climate adaptation and mitigation — particularly in the most fragile countries. COP30 represents a decisive opportunity to reaffirm our collective responsibility in the face of a systemic risk that undermines global economic stability and social justice, and to deliver concrete, coordinated, and immediate responses.”
Extreme climate events are the second leading driver of malnutrition after armed conflicts, and the two often overlap and interact — as is happening in the Gaza Strip, where two years of conflict have caused unprecedented environmental damage that will take decades to contain. Currently, 97.1% of tree crops, 82.4% of annual crops, 95.1% of shrubland, and 89% of grasslands in Gaza are damaged. Soil is contaminated by munitions, solid waste, and untreated wastewater, making large-scale food production impossible and heightening the risk of flooding.
There are also over 61 million tonnes of rubble, partly contaminated with asbestos and industrial chemicals — 20 times more than the cumulative total of all previous wars in Gaza since 2008. The water situation is equally dire: freshwater reserves are critically limited, and most of what remains is polluted.
2024 was the hottest year ever recorded, with extreme weather events reaching record levels in both intensity and frequency, severely impacting agricultural systems and threatening global food security. The climate crisis — now structural rather than episodic — has become one of the main factors driving hunger worldwide. In 2024 alone, there were 393 natural disasters, causing over 16,000 deaths, affecting more than 167 million people, and resulting in economic losses exceeding 241 billion dollars. Within this scenario, the Horn of Africa and Pakistan stand out as emblematic cases: areas severely affected by extreme weather, where prolonged droughts and devastating floods are fuelling a spiral of malnutrition and social vulnerability that threatens millions of lives.
DROUGHT IN THE HORN OF AFRICA – The Horn of Africa continues to face one of the worst food crises in decades, where prolonged drought and extreme weather are devastating livelihoods. The region has experienced five consecutive failed rainy seasons — the worst drought in forty years — with catastrophic consequences in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, which according to the 2025 Global Hunger Index range from serious (Ethiopia and Kenya) to alarming (Somalia) levels of hunger.
In 2024, nearly 50 million people in the region suffered from acute food insecurity. In Somalia, the country with the most severe hunger level in the world, households reporting drought or heat stress as their main climatic shock rose from 4% in 2021 to 45% in 2023. In Ethiopia, the combination of drought, conflict, and inflation continues to hinder access to food and essential services.
In the Horn of Africa, malnutrition is not only a consequence of the climate crisis but also its most dramatic reflection: each dry season reduces food production, drives up prices, and weakens community resilience, making recovery increasingly difficult.
Just as the region was beginning to recover from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented three-year drought (2020–2023) struck East Africa, leading to a sharp increase in acute food insecurity and malnutrition. Pastoral livelihoods in southern Ethiopia, Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands, and most of Somalia were devastated.
In this context, CESVI is active in Somalia through an integrated approach combining life-saving interventions to prevent and treat malnutrition in Mogadishu with initiatives aimed at strengthening vulnerable communities in the Lower Shabelle region. In Ethiopia, particularly in the Oromia Region and southern areas of the country, CESVI works to enhance community resilience, providing access to water through potable water distribution and the construction or rehabilitation of wells. The organisation also promotes sustainable, climate-adapted agricultural development projects and income-generating activities to foster autonomy and recovery among vulnerable families, with particular attention to the empowerment of women and social cohesion, turning environmental challenges into opportunities for peace, development, and self-reliance.
THE CLIMATE CRISIS IN PAKISTAN – Pakistan, which according to the 2025 Global Hunger Index has a serious hunger level, is among the countries most severely affected by the climate crisis, with extreme weather and malnutrition fuelling one another.
Recurrent floods, record heatwaves, and prolonged droughts are undermining food security and threatening millions of people.
After the devastating floods of 2022, which submerged one-third of the country and affected over 33 million people, and further flooding in 2023, Pakistan was once again hit hard by extreme weather in 2025.
This year, the country endured an exceptionally violent monsoon season, affecting over 6.9 million people and causing more than 1,000 deaths. Exceptionally heavy rains between July and September triggered floods and landslides in Balochistan and Sindh provinces, resulting in severe crop losses and damage to agricultural infrastructure. Exacerbating the crisis, temperatures exceeding 45°C and prolonged drought periods have reduced water and food availability, further worsening the agricultural collapse.
The combined effects of extreme weather, widespread poverty, and fragile basic services have deepened a long-term nutritional crisis: today, 40% of children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition, 2.2 million people from severe acute malnutrition, and over 11.8 million live in acute food insecurity.
CESVI, which has been active in Pakistan for many years with humanitarian and development programmes aimed at strengthening the resilience and self-sufficiency of communities affected by the climate crisis, has responded to this latest emergency in Buner District by providing immediate relief and recovery support. Its activities have included search and rescue operations, distribution of fodder and seeds, rehabilitation of water infrastructure, and hygiene and health campaigns to prevent the spread of dengue. CESVI also provides financial assistance and training to improve food security and livelihoods for vulnerable families and implements climate adaptation and risk management plans, actively engaging communities and testing sustainable agricultural models.
To download the 2025 Global Hunger Index: full report and synopsis available.