This blog post summarizes the unfolding extreme weather and humanitarian crisis in Syria: record-breaking wildfires across Lattakia Governorate and surrounding areas, widespread drought and crop failure, severe water shortages affecting millions, and a critically underfunded humanitarian response.
It draws on recent reporting and scientific context to explain the causes, impacts, and urgent needs.
What is happening on the ground
The coastal province of Lattakia has experienced the worst extreme weather in six decades, with wildfires ripping through villages, farmland, and orchards.
These fires, driven by unusual heat, long-term drought, and strong winds, have spread to parts of Hama and Idleb, prompting evacuations and leaving many communities devastated.
Immediate impacts and human cost
The combination of flames and drought is straining livelihoods and basic services.
Nearly 10 million Syrians already struggle to meet basic water needs. Drought-like conditions now threaten wheat production for at least 16.2 million people.
Entire plots of olive, lemon, pomegranate and almond trees have been destroyed in northern Lattakia, cutting off income and food sources for farmers and rural households.
Key on-the-ground consequences include:
Why scientists say this is happening
Climate science links the Syrian crisis to long-term, human-caused warming.
The Eastern Mediterranean has been repeatedly identified as a drought hotspot, where rising temperatures reduce water availability and magnify extreme heat and fire risk.
Science-backed drivers of the crisis
Every incremental rise in global temperature amplifies drought and fire risk in this region.
Studies suggest that Mediterranean water availability could drop by up to 15% for every 2°C of warming.
In Syria, severe drought has already damaged roughly 25,000 km² of cropped land in key agricultural areas — a scale that translates directly into food insecurity and lost livelihoods.
Humanitarian response and funding shortfalls
The UN and partners have mobilized, but resources fall far short of needs.
The UN allocated $625,000 from the Syria Humanitarian Fund for urgent assistance, routed largely through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, to help firefighting, displacement support and immediate relief.
Funding gaps and recovery timeline
Despite these efforts, the response remains severely underfunded: only 13% of the 2025 Syria Humanitarian Response Priorities were met by mid‑August.
The UN plans to support food, water, health and agricultural recovery with a goal to restart farming by October 2025, but achieving that depends on rapid, scaled funding and access to affected communities.
What needs to happen next
From a scientific and humanitarian perspective, priorities are clear: protect lives and water supplies now. Invest in resilient agriculture, wildfire management and social protection for the months and years ahead.
Immediate actions should include expanded water trucking and repairs to water infrastructure. Seed and tool distribution for next planting seasons, and livestock support for pastoralists are also needed.
As an expert with decades working on climate and food systems, I stress that short-term relief must be combined with long-term adaptation. Improved water management, reforestation where feasible, firebreaks and community early-warning systems are important, as is international funding commensurate with the scale of the crisis.
Here is the source article for this story: Syria battles its worst extreme weather in 60 years