Myanmar is a country in Southeast Asia with a coastline along the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Myanmar’s three ecological zones are its central drylands, its coast, and hills. With high susceptibility to floods, natural hazards, cyclones, extreme heat, and landslides, sea level rise, and a poverty rate that has doubled since 2017 (UNDP, 2024), ND-GAIN (2025) ranks Myanmar as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world.  

Over the past 60 years, Myanmar has seen increasing temperatures, more erratic rainfall, and a progressive alteration of its monsoon patterns with large variation across the country (Tun Oo, 2023). Extreme weather events are projected to continue, and with a shorter monsoon season and projected heavy precipitation events, flash floods are expected to become more frequent (ibid.). This is expected to have severe consequences in terms of food and water security, infrastructural safety, and poverty. Roughly 70% of Myanmar’s population lives in rural areas and roughly half of its population is engaged in agriculture (NUPI, 2024). The central dry zone where most of all crops in Myanmar are grown is at risk of extreme heat, water scarcity and drought (Tun Oo, 2023). Existing vulnerabilities in the country further contribute to its climate risks. For instance, in the southern coastal region poor villagers have turned from fishing-based livelihoods to charcoal production leading to deforestation of mangroves that are key natural barriers against storm surges (Kim, 2024). 

In its NDC (2021) Myanmar outlines that adaptation is its key priority with a focus on building the resilience of vulnerable communities and ecosystems, however the ongoing military takeover in Myanmar has triggered a humanitarian crisis and heightened its vulnerability to climate change (OHCHR, 2023). 

CARE has worked in Myanmar since 1995 with the aim of improving living standards through cross-cutting measures, including: gender equality & women’s empowerment; public health and hygiene; water, sanitation; HIV/AIDS prevention and care; support for pregnant mothers and children; food and livelihood security (including support to develop agricultural and fishing practices); and disaster risk reduction.