New UNEP Report Highlights Four Critical Emerging Climate Threats

New York: Four rapidly emerging climate threats could reshape life for millions unless urgent action is taken. From awakening ancient microbes in melting glaciers to toxic pollutants released by floods, these dangers are increasingly immediate.

According to United Nations, The Frontiers Report 2025 by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) identifies four key areas where environmental degradation intersects with human vulnerability: legacy pollution, melting glacier microbes, undamming rivers, and climate risks for an ageing population. Climate scientists emphasize that many glaciers may not survive this century unless the melting rate is slowed, posing risks of floods and reactivated microbes in warming cryosphere regions.

Frozen in ice sheets, glaciers, and permafrost are bacteria, fungi, and viruses. While most are dead, some remain dormant or active. As global temperatures rise, these microorganisms will become more active, necessitating efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and assess potential pathogen threats. Documenting and preserving cryospheric microorganisms is crucial for understanding climate history, evolution, disease therapies, and biotechnologies.

In the Colombian Amazon, river water levels have dropped by up to 80 percent, impacting drinking water, food supplies, and leading to the closure of 130 schools. This increases the risk of child exploitation by non-State armed groups and results in respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, and acute malnutrition among children under five. The problem is exacerbated by numerous dams operating during climate-induced droughts, keeping over 420,000 children out of school in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, as reported by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The need to remove dams and other barriers to rehabilitate river ecosystems is growing. Local communities, Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth increasingly initiate this process. However, understanding the restoration outcomes of barrier removal is necessary to guide future removals and inform decisions about existing and future barriers.

Older people face increased risks during extreme weather and ongoing environmental degradation. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) predicts more hot weather, disproportionately affecting the elderly, as seen in rising deaths and illnesses amid recent heatwaves. The global share of people over 65 will rise from 10 percent in 2024 to 16 percent by 2050, with most living in cities exposed to extreme heat, air pollution, and frequent disasters. Effective adaptation strategies must evolve to protect these older populations.

Flooding has crippled communities worldwide as extreme weather events increase. Hidden dangers include legacy pollutants secreted into the ground and released during floods. The Pakistan floods of 2010, the Niger Delta flooding in 2012, and Hurricane Harvey in 2017 are examples where floodwaters stirred up sediments, releasing heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. Evaluating sediments to understand hazards, rethinking flood protection, and investing in natural remediation of contaminated sediments are options to address this issue.