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Advancing adaptation: How evolving hazards could shape the agenda

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Advancing adaptation: Mapping costs from cooling to coastal defenses estimates the costs of climate adaptation using a granular, geospatial analysis and examining 20 proven, cost-effective adaptation measures.

The McKinsey Global Institute analyzed how nine climate hazards manifest today and how their patterns might shift as the world warms, in an effort to understand the costs and benefits of adaptation.

We find that today, about 40 percent of the Earth’s landmass experiences hazards including severe heat, destructive wildfires, prolonged drought, and severe flooding, which are rooted in current local patterns of weather extremes.1 Heat, wildfires, and drought affect wide swaths of land, while flooding hazards are often more localized, shaped by geography, coastlines, and local rainfall. In addition, some 35 percent of the world’s terrain experiences freezing days (see sidebar, “The hazards we examine”). In response, many places around the world have implemented measures to adapt to these hazards.

Yet today’s view offers only a snapshot of what is actually a moving picture. Global temperature increases of 1.5°C and 2°C, anticipated by roughly 2030 and 2050, respectively, under the current trajectory of global emissions, will cause kaleidoscopic local shifts.2

We assessed 25 current-trajectory emissions scenarios, based on policies announced or implemented, from the IPCC, NGFS, and IEA to reflect the wide range of climate estimates. These scenarios suggest that 1.5°C of warming relative to preindustrial levels would be reached somewhere between 2025 and 2035, when warming is measured as a 20-year average centered on a given year and relative to a preindustrial average. In 2030, temperatures across the 25 scenarios range from 1.45°C to 1.55°C. In the IPCC scenarios, the median level of warming by 2050 is 2.0°C, and in the more recent NGFS and IEA scenarios, it is 2°C. By 2100, the temperature estimates from the same set of models are 3.0°C (average across IPCC scenarios, with a maximum of 3.7°C), 2.9°C (NGFS and IEA Current Policies), and 2.5°C (IEA Stated Policies). The IPCC and NGFS scenarios are based on the assumption that currently announced policies are preserved. For NGFS, this covers national climate policies that were legislated and supported by instruments as of March 2024. For IPCC scenarios, the specific policies reflected vary by model. The IEA Current Policies scenario (2025), by contrast, considers only policies already adopted in legislation and regulation, assuming no future changes, even where governments have indicated their intention to do so, and takes a cautious perspective on the pace at which new energy technologies are deployed and integrated into the energy system. The IEA Stated Policies scenario draws on a wider interpretation of the policy environment, incorporating not only enacted measures but also formally proposed ones and other official strategy documents that signal the intended policy direction. For details, see IEA, World Energy Outlook 2025, November 2025.

On these trajectories, warming is projected to rise beyond 2°C in the second half of this century. Because some adaptation measures take more than a decade to implement, anticipating needs at least for 2050 and a 2°C world now is prudent, even as the world works to reduce emissions. Moreover, some measures implemented today—for example, stormwater networks—can have multiple-decade lifetimes, making it prudent to consider how hazards could evolve a few decades out, to avoid costly retrofits down the road.

Importantly, change will occur, but not everywhere, not in the same way, and not all at once. While many hazards will spread across more parts of the world, some will not. Freezing is expected to decline, and in some small areas, drought or flood risks may also decrease—even while increasing in others. Hazards may not shift in the same way, either. Many will intensify, lengthen, or happen more frequently as the planet warms, but the scale of the change and where it occurs will vary. For example, regions like Latin America and parts of emerging Asia could face much longer periods of heat stress at 2°C, whereas India, already subject to prolonged heat conditions, is likely to see a smaller relative increase. Finally, exposure to hazards won’t increase all at once; more places are expected to become exposed between now and 1.5°C, and still more by 2°C.

The following hazard spotlights explain where, when, and how each type of hazard could change as global temperatures rise from current levels to 1.5°C and 2°C above preindustrial levels. For each hazard, we highlight the change, whether in intensity, frequency, or duration, that matters most for guiding adaptation planning.3 Naturally, the prevalence of a hazard does not necessarily mean places need to or will adapt to it, but understanding today’s patterns of extreme weather and their evolution is the first step in adaptation planning.

In doing this work, we could define hazards in many ways, influencing the results shown here. Since our focus is on understanding and quantifying adaptation costs, we define hazards using protection standards typically established in developed economies. And, of course, even though all the hazards examined here are considered meaningful enough to protect against, they are not all created equal, and their impact can be very different. For example, heat stress events are prolonged periods of high heat or humidity, lasting more than a month each year, that broadly affect labor productivity and health. By contrast, heat waves are rare, short-lived, localized extreme heat events that particularly put vulnerable populations at risk.

Since we aren’t climate scientists, we rely on external climate models, primarily those used in the sixth assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).4 In using these models, we have employed standard techniques to manage uncertainties inherent in climate modeling, though we recognize that important residual uncertainties remain (see the technical appendix for more details). Thus, the results presented here are not high-resolution predictions of climate hazards in specific places around the world. Rather, they are directional assessments of how hazards could evolve. This serves as the basis for our order-of-magnitude assessment of adaptation costs and benefits across the world.

Heat stress: Present across the tropics today, becoming more widespread and prolonged at 2°C

Places exposed to heat stress by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part one of a three series panels of a world map shows the number of days per year with heat stress at today’s warming level of 1.1 degrees Celsius. Regions are shaded in stepped categories from 28 days to more than 224 days. Areas with heat stress appear in a relatively narrow tropical and subtropical band, with concentrations across North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, parts of Southeast Asia, northern Australia, and pockets of Central and South America.
Places exposed to heat stress by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part two of the same world map with heat stress at a warming level of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Compared with the previous panel, both the area and duration of heat stress expand, filling in a broader belt across North Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and northern Australia, with additional spread in Central America and northern South America.
Places exposed to heat stress by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part three of the same world map with heat stress at a warming level of 2 degrees Celsius. Heat-stress regions become widespread across the tropics and subtropics, forming a largely continuous band from North Africa through the Middle East to South and Southeast Asia and expanding in Australia and the Americas.

Heat waves: Clustered today in a few places in the tropics and subtropics, spreading at 1.5°C and beyond

Places exposed to heat waves by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part one of a three series panels of a world map shows the number of consecutive days of heat waves at today’s warming level of 1.1 degrees Celsius. Regions are shaded in stepped duration categories from 7 days to more than 18 days. Heat-wave exposure appears in scattered clusters—parts of the western United States, the Mediterranean and Middle East, northern India and Pakistan, pockets of East Asia, the northern Andes and Amazon fringe, and southeastern Australia.
Places exposed to heat waves by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part two of the same world map shows the number of consecutive days of heat waves at a warming level of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Compared with the previous panel, shaded areas spread and intensify across North America, Europe and the Mediterranean, North and West Africa, the Middle East, South and East Asia, and much of South America and Australia.
Places exposed to heat waves by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part three of the same world map shows the number of consecutive days of heat waves at a warming level of 2 degrees Celsius. Shaded areas become widespread across most continents, forming near-continuous belts across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and broad coverage across North and South America and Australia.

Nonsurvivable heat: Extremely rare today, becoming slightly more widespread and likely at 2°C

Places exposed to nonsurvivable heat, by warning level
Part one of a three series panels of world map shows the annual probability of nonsurvivable heat at today’s warming level of 1.1 degrees Celsius. Regions are shaded by probability categories from 1 percent to more than 30 percent. Small, isolated hotspots appear, including parts of coastal West Africa, the Sahel edge, lowland East Africa around the Rift Valley, pockets along the Persian Gulf, scattered sites in South and Southeast Asia, and sections of northern Australia.
Places exposed to nonsurvivable heat, by warning level
Part two of the same world map shows the annual probability of nonsurvivable heat at a warming level of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Compared with the previous panel, hotspots enlarge and multiply across South Asia and Southeast Asia, with added clusters in the Sahel and coastal West Africa, the Nile corridor, and along the Persian Gulf.
Places exposed to nonsurvivable heat, by warning level
Part three of the same world map shows the annual probability of nonsurvivable heat at a warming level of 2 degrees Celsius. Hotspots coalesce into broader zones across South Asia and parts of Southeast Asia, extend along the Sahel and Gulf of Guinea, and intensify around the Persian Gulf and the Nile corridor, with continued coverage in northern Australia.

Wildfire weather: Present today, lengthening slightly, and becoming somewhat more widespread at 2°C

Places exposed to wildfires by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part one of a three series panels of world map shows the number of days per year with wildfire-prone weather at today’s warming level of 1.1 degrees Celsius. Regions are shaded in duration categories from 14 days to more than 182 days. Exposure concentrates along western North America, parts of the Amazon and southern Brazil, Mediterranean Europe into Turkey and the Caucasus, southern Africa, and eastern and southern Australia.
Places exposed to wildfires by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part two of the same world map shows the number of days per year with wildfire-prone weather at a warming level of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Compared with the previous panel, shaded areas broaden and intensify across western North America, the Mediterranean and southern Europe into Central Asia, southern Africa, and Australia, with added spread across the Amazon basin and southern Brazil.
Places exposed to wildfires by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part three of the same world map shows the number of days per year with wildfire-prone weather at a warming level of 2 degrees Celsius. Extensive belts of exposure appear across western North America, Mediterranean Europe into Central and East Asia, large portions of southern Africa, and much of eastern and southern Australia, with persistent coverage in the Amazon and southern Brazil.

Drought: Present today in some parts of the world, expanding and lengthening at 1.5°C and beyond

Places exposed to drought by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part one of a three series panels of world map shows the number of consecutive months of drought at today’s warming level of 1.1 degrees Celsius. Regions are shaded by duration categories from 6 months to more than 12 months. Drought exposure appears in scattered clusters, including parts of western North America, the Mediterranean and pockets of Central Asia, northeastern South America, southern Africa, and southern Australia.
Places exposed to drought by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part two of the same world map shows the number of consecutive months of drought at a warming level of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Compared with the previous panel, shaded areas broaden across Europe and the Mediterranean into Central and East Asia, with additional spread in western North America, northeastern South America, southern Africa, and Australia.
Places exposed to drought by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part three of the same world map shows the number of consecutive months of drought at a warming level of 2 degrees Celsius. Drought-prone zones expand and connect into extensive belts from Europe and the Mediterranean through Central and East Asia, with continued growth in western North America, northeastern South America, southern Africa, and Australia.

Coastal flooding: Rare events today expected to occur more often across many low-lying regions at 2°C, with some intensity increase

Places exposed to coastal flooding by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part one of a three series panels of world map shows coastal flooding exposure at today’s warming level of 1.1 degrees Celsius. Coastlines are shaded by flood-depth categories from 50 centimeters to more than 200 centimeters. Affected stretches appear along low-lying deltas and estuaries including the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna, Mekong, Pearl River, Yangtze, and Nile, plus parts of the US Gulf Coast and Atlantic seaboard, the North Sea, and scattered small-island and archipelago shores.
Places exposed to coastal flooding by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part two of the same world map shows coastal flooding exposure at a warming level of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Relative to the previous panel, shaded shoreline length increases and modeled depths rise, with intensified exposure around the Bay of Bengal, the Mekong and Red River deltas, eastern China, the Nile delta and eastern Mediterranean, the North Sea coasts, and more of the US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, as well as additional Pacific and Caribbean islands.
Places exposed to coastal flooding by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part three of the same world map shows coastal flooding exposure at a warming level of 2 degrees Celsius. Extensive sections of global shoreline become exposed and deeper inundation appears, with pronounced risk across South and Southeast Asian deltas, eastern China and Japan, the North Sea and Baltic, the US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, parts of West Africa, and many small-island and coral-reef nations.

Riverine flooding: Present today, with slightly greater extent and some frequency and intensity increase at 2°C

Places exposed to riverine flooding by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part one of a three series panels of a world map shows riverine flooding exposure at today’s warming level of 1.1 degrees Celsius. Inland areas are shaded by flood-depth categories from 50 centimeters to more than 250 centimeters. Exposed locations appear as scattered clusters along major rivers, including stretches of the Amazon, the Indo-Gangetic basin, the Mekong and Red River systems, and pockets in central and western Africa, with most sites in the lower-depth categories.
Places exposed to riverine flooding by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part two of the same world map shows riverine flooding exposure at a warming level of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Compared with the previous panel, the number of exposed locations increases and coverage spreads along large river networks—especially across South Asia, northern South America, and parts of central and western Africa—with additional growth in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Places exposed to riverine flooding by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part three of the same world map shows riverine flooding exposure at a warming level of 2 degrees Celsius. Extensive clusters line the Indo-Gangetic and Brahmaputra systems, broaden through Southeast Asia, intensify in the Amazon and northern South America, and expand across central and western Africa, with scattered increases in North America and Europe.

Excessive rainfall flooding: Widespread today, expanding in reach at 2°C

Places exposed to excess-rainfall flooding by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part one of a three series panels of a world map shows exposure to excess-rainfall flooding at today’s warming level of 1.1 degrees Celsius. Land areas are shaded by flood-depth categories from 15 centimeters to more than 55 centimeters. Exposed locations appear widely but unevenly, with dense clusters across South and East Asia (including the Indo-Gangetic plain, Mekong basin, and eastern China), pockets through equatorial and West Africa, scattered river basins in Europe and eastern North America, and low-lying coastal plains in many regions.
Places exposed to excess-rainfall flooding by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part two of the same world map shows exposure to excess-rainfall flooding at a warming level of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Compared with the previous panel, the number of exposed locations increases and modeled depths rise. Coverage thickens across South and East Asia, spreads through parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, expands in European river basins and the eastern United States, and appears more frequently in Central and South America and along coastal lowlands.
Places exposed to excess-rainfall flooding by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part three of the same world map shows exposure to excess-rainfall flooding at a warming level of 2 degrees Celsius. Exposed areas become extensive across most continents, with large, continuous zones in South and East Asia and broader clusters in West and Central Africa, Europe’s river systems, and eastern North America, alongside additional growth in Central and South America and coastal plains worldwide.

Freezing days: Common today across temperate and polar regions, becoming less widespread with warming at 1.5°C and beyond

Places exposed to freezing by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part one of a three series panels of a world map shows the number of freezing days per year at today’s warming level of 1.1 degrees Celsius. Land areas are shaded in categories from 28 days to more than 224 days. Extensive high-latitude zones record long seasons of freezing, including northern Canada and Alaska, Greenland’s coastal fringe, Scandinavia and northern Europe, and a very broad swath of northern Asia across Russia and Mongolia; smaller pockets appear at elevation in the Rockies, Alps, and Himalayas.
Places exposed to freezing by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part two of the same world map shows the number of freezing days per year at a warming level of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Relative to the previous panel, shaded areas recede poleward and many regions shift to lower-duration categories. Reductions are notable across southern Canada and the northern United States, northern Europe and the Baltics, and the southern margins of Siberia, while mountain pockets persist but contract.
Places exposed to freezing by developed-economy standards, by warning level
Part three of the same world map shows the number of freezing days per year at a warming level of 2 degrees Celsius. Freezing conditions are largely confined to the far north—northernmost Canada and Greenland, the Arctic rim of Scandinavia and Russia—with only isolated high-elevation pockets elsewhere.
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