UN Women at COP31: 1.5 billion women, girls live in climate hotspots

More than one in three women and girls in the world, about 1.5 billion people, live in "climate hotspots" where hazards such as cyclones and droughts overlap with insecure work and deep gender inequality, UN Women said on Tuesday, 10 November 2026. The agency released the findings at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye, with its flagship report Progress of the World's Women 2026: Gender Equality in the Age of Climate Crisis and an accompanying fact sheet. Under a worst-case scenario, it estimates, climate change could push up to 141 million more women and girls into extreme poverty by the middle of the century.

Climate change is often discussed in terms of temperatures and emissions, but UN Women's findings put the focus on people's lives. The hotspots it describes are places where climate hazards meet insecure jobs and unequal rights, so a drought or cyclone does more damage to women who already have less income, land and say in decisions. The report's central argument is that the people who did least to cause the crisis are being hit hardest.

The figures on violence are among the most disturbing. A link between long droughts and higher odds of sexual violence against young women, across 14 countries, shows how environmental stress can spill into safety at home and in communities. UN Women has also warned that climate change threatens recent progress in reducing child marriage.

For women balancing paid work, care and household duties, the electricity figure is telling. With 326 million women and girls still lacking electricity, access to power is as much about time, work and wellbeing as it is about emissions.

There is also an opportunity in the findings. The estimate of up to 68 million green jobs for women by 2035 points to work in renewable energy, sustainable farming and climate-resilient industries, if training and finance reach women. For India, with large rural populations exposed to heat, floods and drought, the findings bear directly on how climate and welfare schemes are designed.

Peepals calculation: If 73% of countries name gender-specific climate risks but only about a third take a comprehensive approach, then roughly 40 of every 100 countries identify the risks without a full plan to address them (73 − 33 = 40). The 141 million women and girls who could be pushed into extreme poverty equal a little under one in ten of the 1.5 billion living in hotspots (141 ÷ 1,500 ≈ 0.094). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: The findings add pressure on COP31 negotiators to put gender into climate finance and adaptation decisions in Antalya.

Long-term: If governments act on the recommendations, climate plans could do more to protect women's incomes, safety and health, and to open new green jobs to them.

Who is affected: Women and girls in climate-exposed regions, especially in rural and informal work; governments drafting climate plans; and climate finance providers.

What to watch next: The outcome of the COP31 talks in Antalya, which run until 20 November 2026.

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