Flood deaths hit 13-year high and more than 100 countries break monthly temperature records  

Flood deaths hit 13-year high and more than 100 countries break monthly temperature records  

  • Flood deaths have hit a 13-year high this year, while 106 countries have broken monthly temperature records. 
  • The carbon pollution of someone in the richest 1 percent has contributed 100 times more to today’s extreme heatwaves than that of someone in the poorest half of humanity. 
  • Since 7 November, 87 private jets, including Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s jet, have so far landed in Antalya, nearly 22 times more than during the same period last year. 

ANTALYA, NOV 11: /DNA/ – Flood deaths this year have reached their highest level since 2013, while monthly temperature records have been broken in more than 100 countries, reveals new analysis by Oxfam. The findings come as 87 private jets have so far landed at Antalya Airport in Türkiye during the UN climate summit (COP31). 

At least 8,000 people have died in floods this year, around three-quarters of them in Nepal, where flash flooding caused the highest number of flood-related deaths on record. Deaths from flooding are seven times higher in more unequal countries. 

Between January and September 2026, monthly temperature records were broken in 106 countries.  

The carbon pollution of a person in the richest 1 percent has contributed 34 times more to today’s extreme heatwaves than the average person, and 100 times more than someone in the poorest 50 percent. 

“These records are not accidents of weather. They are the foreseeable consequences of a fossil-fueled economy in which those who pollute most are also the best protected from its consequences,” said Oxfam International Executive Director Amitabh Behar. 

Oxfam’s analysis of data from Polluterjet reveals that 87 private jets have landed at Antalya Airport since 7 November, emitting an estimated 777 tons of CO₂, and equivalent to flying around the world more than 3 times. Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s private jet flew approximately 4,370 kilometers from Lagos to Antalya, emitting an estimated 30 tons of CO₂, roughly as much as the average person emits in six years.During COP30 last year, 66 private jet journeys were recorded.  

Private jets are among the most carbon-intensive ways to travel, and their use and ownership has grown alongside the extreme concentration of wealth. About 250,000 people use private jets, equivalent to 0.003 percent of the world’s population. New analysis by Oxfam of private jet data finds that in 2025: 

  • On average, each private jet flight emitted as much carbon pollution as the average person does in an entire year.  
  • 68 percent of private jets departed from the US, home to four percent of the world’s population. 
  • Collectively, private jets flew four billion kilometers, equivalent to circumnavigating the Earth 105,000 times. 

The Global Solidarity Levies Task Force estimates that taxing private jets could raise approximately $45 billion per year, nearly 12 times the amount rich countries gave to UN climate funds in 2025.  

“While families mourn loved ones killed by floods and endure blistering heat, the ultra-wealthy carry on flying in private jets, high above the devastating consequences,” said Behar. “Governments must stop treating the extraordinarily polluting luxuries of the super-rich as an untouchable privilege. Taxing private jets is an obvious first step.”