Colombia, located in the northwest of South America, is a geographically varied country, with the Andes Mountains running through it and lowland plains in the east. Its coastline runs along the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, with the Amazon tropical rainforests to the southeast. The population is largely concentrated in the Andean highlands and the Caribbean coast, with less than 10 percent living in the eastern Llanos and tropical forests. Colombia is highly vulnerable to extreme weather, especially flooding caused by “La Niña”, a climate pattern characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.  The Caribbean and Andean regions are particularly susceptible, with sectors such as housing, transportation, energy, agriculture, and health at significant risk from these climate impacts (World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal). Due to its varied elevations, Colombia experiences significant regional differences in temperature and precipitation. The coastal and eastern lowland areas have a tropical climate, while the highlands and Andes are cooler (UNEP GRID-Geneva). 

 Colombia is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change (World Risk Index 2024). Mismanagement of forests, land, and natural resources, along with poor land-use planning in sectors such as oil, mining, and agriculture, exacerbates deforestation and land degradation. Its geographic location exposes it to natural hazards, and climate-related disasters accounted for nearly 90 percent of the emergencies reported between 1998 and 2011, resulting in substantial economic losses. Improving disaster risk management in urban, coastal, and agricultural areas is key to increasing the country’s resilience to the rise in the frequency and economic cost of natural disasters.