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3 billion people could live in places as hot as the Sahara by 2070 unless we tackle climate change

An indigenous Sahrawi man rebuilds his house, which was damaged by floods last October, in Al Smara desert refugee camp in Tindouf, southern Algeria March 4, 2016. In refugee camps near the town of Tindouf in arid southern Algeria, conditions are hard for indigenous Sahrawi residents. Residents use car batteries for electricity at night and depend on humanitarian aid to get by. The five camps near Tindouf are home to an estimated 165,000 Sahrawi refugees from the disputed region of Western Sahara, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES  Matching text ALGERIA-SAHARA/ - GF10000333467

Billions more people could be living in desert-like conditions, unless climate change is addressed. Image: REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Sean Fleming
Senior Writer, Formative Content
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The projected shift in temperature would affect the geographic distribution of people. Image: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America/ Chi Xu, Timothy A. Kohler, Timothy M. Lenton, Jens-Christian Svenning, Marten Scheffer [CC 4.0]
climate change migration habits environment temperature earth global globe world planet
Much of Africa, South America and Australasia will face challenging conditions. Image: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America/ Chi Xu, Timothy A. Kohler, Timothy M. Lenton, Jens-Christian Svenning, Marten Scheffer [CC 4.0]
climate change migration habits environment temperature earth global globe world planet
Environmental concerns dominate the risk outlook over the next 10 years. Image: World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2020
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