Countries Most Vulnerable to Climate Change Will Experience Population Booms in Coming Decades

Climate scientists have long warned that the impacts of climate change will hit less developed regions in the global south harder and earlier than wealthier parts of the world. A major consequence of that trend, analysis of the U.N.’s latest population forecasts shows, is that countries experiencing the world's most rapid population growth over the coming decades will also be on the front lines of climate change.

TIME compared data from population forecasts published by the U.N.

Climate scientists have long warned that the impacts of climate change will hit less developed regions in the global south harder and earlier than wealthier parts of the world. A major consequence of that trend, analysis of the U.N.’s latest population forecasts shows, is that countries experiencing the world's most rapid population growth over the coming decades will also be on the front lines of climate change. TIME compared data from population forecasts published by the U.N.