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Sudan displacement higher than projected, humanitarian access thwarted
Humanitarian needs have soared among people displaced by the fighting in Sudan, with refugee numbers on track to surpass projections and aid access still extremely uncertain, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.
“We've already seen over 560,000 people crossing into neighbouring countries; we've seen nearly two million people displaced internally in the country,” said Raouf Mazou, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, after returning from a mission to Sudan.
Since conflict erupted there on 15 April when rival militaries clashed, more than 560,000 people have reached neighbouring countries – with Egypt receiving the highest number, followed by Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.
One million marker passed
Based on the continuing violence, UNHCR now expects that its previous estimate of one million refugees will be surpassed.
In response to the escalating crisis, UNHCR and other UN agencies, humanitarian partners and host communities have increased efforts to provide emergency shelter, clean water, health care services, psychosocial support and other vital assistance to help displaced populations inside and outside Sudan.
Host communities who have not been affected by the conflict until now are also “seeing the consequences”, Mr. Mazou said. “All are in need of protection and assistance…What is also quite striking and which needs to be underlined is how welcoming the host populations are.”
West Darfur horror
Although the violence has developed across multiple fronts, UNHCR has expressed particular concern about West Darfur. Aid access is “limited”, amid reports of “wanton killings” by “Arab” militia that have been condemned by the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
According to UNHCR, 170,000 people have already crossed into Chad, which borders West Darfur. Many, including women and children, have arrived needing treatment for their injuries.
The rainy season has also thwarted aid workers from reaching those crossing the border and transporting them to refugee camps, the UN agency said.
South Sudan returnees
In South Sudan, sparse infrastructure and security concerns represent significant challenges preventing new arrivals from moving on. Much of the assistance they need will have to be airlifted, which is both costly and complex.
In the meantime, UNHCR teams are registering new arrivals, providing them with emergency relief and helping them to reach different locations as quickly as possible.
“This is a country which has received over 120,000 people,” Mr. Mazou said. “It's largely South Sudanese who are living in Sudan, who are going back to their country…They are part of the 800,000 South Sudanese refugees who were in Sudan, but they are now going back.”
Support in all its forms
Capacity at border reception and transit facilities in neighbouring countries have been strained by the sheer numbers of people arriving, leading to overcrowding and further stretching of already limited resources. Those fleeing Sudan arrive exhausted after days or sometimes weeks on the road, shocked by the violence they have witnessed and in need of food, medical care and relief items.
During a donor conference for Sudan in Geneva on 19 June, $1.52 billion in pledges were received against an appeal for $3 billion. The co-organisers were the UN, the European Union and the African Union, as well as Germany, Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
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- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley UN Geneva
- Medium shot: speakers behind podium at the press conference, screen with speakers, attendee in the foreground
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, UNHCR: “The conflict in Sudan started on the 15th of April, a bit more than two months ago. And we've already seen over 560,000 people crossing into neighboring countries. We've seen nearly 2 million people displaced internally in the country.”
- Close shot: attendee taking notes at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, UNHCR: “We have those who are affected by the conflict but cannot leave. We have those who are now internally displaced, as I said, 2 million people. Then we have those who fled into neighboring countries. And then you have people who are living in part of the country that are not necessarily affected by the conflict, but they are seeing the consequences, the socio-economic consequences of the conflict. But all are in need of protection and assistance.”
- Medium shot: attendees taking notes at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, UNHCR: “The situation in Darfur is probably the one that is worrying us the most. Access into Darfur is limited, but we are hearing from those who are crossing into Chad, a very difficult situation in Darfur. We are also seeing more and more of those who cross into Chad arriving with injuries.”
- Medium shot: attendees taking notes at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, UNHCR: “What is also quite striking and which needs to be underlined is how welcoming the host populations are. They are living in very difficult circumstances. The part of the country that is particularly poor and they've also been affected by the conflict in Sudan. The conflict in Sudan is having socio economic consequences on Chad and other countries in the region.”
- Medium shot: moderator taking notes at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, UNHCR: “The country, which has received the largest number of refugees so far, is Egypt. Egypt has received more than half of the refugees who've moved into neighboring countries.”
- Medium shot: attendees discussing and taking notes at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, UNHCR: “I was also in South Sudan at the beginning of this month. This is a country which has received over 120,000 people. And as I said, it's largely South Sudanese who are living in Sudan, who are going back to their country. They were refugees in Sudan, they are part of the 800,000 Sudanese, South Sudanese refugees who were in Sudan, but they are now going back to their countries.”
- Medium shot: speakers behind podium at the press conference
- Medium shot: attendee taking notes at the press conference
- Medium shot: speakers behind podium at the press conference, screen with speakers, attendee in the foreground
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
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Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
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“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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