The climate crisis is increasingly reshaping elections, with floods, wildfires and extreme weather now disrupting democratic processes around the world. New analysis finds that over the past two decades at least 94 elections and referendums in 52 countries were affected by climate-related hazards, and the pressure on already fragile systems—especially in Africa and Asia—is expected to rise as risks grow.
The study, produced by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (an intergovernmental organisation that supports democracy), is the first global review of how natural hazards interfere with electoral events. In 2024 alone, the report says, climate hazards disrupted 23 elections in 18 countries, including Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Senegal, by damaging infrastructure, displacing voters or forcing last-minute procedural changes.
Researchers catalogue more than 100 climate-related crises that have affected elections. Cyclone Idai in Mozambique in 2019 inundated homes, schools, power lines and roads and caused mass displacement, events the report says influenced the presidential results and the distribution of legislative and provincial seats. In Senegal’s November 2024 parliamentary vote, flooding was so severe that firefighters had to transport election observers to polling stations.
Heatwaves are a recurring and growing problem. At least 10 elections since 2022 have been affected by extreme heat; in the Philippines’ 2025 general election, intense temperatures caused some vote-counting machines to overheat and reject ballots that had previously been accepted. Heat is especially dangerous in dense cities: Lagos now records the most days per year (89) with temperatures significantly above pre‑climate‑change norms.
Report authors argue that elections should be scheduled to avoid predictable climate threats and that electoral management bodies may need to alter timelines to reduce the likelihood of disruption. They recommend closer coordination between election organisers and meteorological services, environmental agencies, disaster-relief groups and humanitarian organisations.
Some jurisdictions are already adapting: Peru has trained election staff in disaster risk management to handle voting-day disruptions, and Alberta in Canada has moved its provincial vote from May to October to avoid wildfire season. Academics involved in the study stress that preparation, training and contingency planning will be essential to maintain the integrity and resilience of elections as natural hazards increase.