Climate risk country profile: Yemen

This profile aims to explore the climate risks that the Republic of Yemen faces. Yemen is projected to experience more extreme heat and extreme precipitation events under current climate models. Water access, health and sanitation, rural agricultural livelihoods, and disruptions to infrastructure and economic activities are critical concerns stemming from conditions that coincide with the El Niño Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole, especially given Yemen’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Key messages of the report include:

• Sea level rise, inundation, and erosion will increasingly threaten Yemen’s coastline (Tihama and Socotra) by the end of the century.
• Flooding across all of Yemen’s main regions has recently increased and will likely continue occurring with greater intensity and frequency. However, drought and related water scarcity still pose major ongoing risks.
• Climate variability can exacerbate Yemen’s moderately high seismic risk conditions. Earthquake hazards pose the greatest threat along the coast and parts of the highlands. The western coast has the highest volcanic hazard risks, while steep terrain poses landslide hazard risks in all governorates.