From November 2025 through January 2026, the Military Responses to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) tracker documented 41 military deployments in 15 countries to address climate hazards. As 2025 wound down, countries in South and Southeast Asia were slammed by typhoons and devastating flooding. Notably, multiple militaries also deployed to assist Sri Lanka in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah, which Sri Lankan leaders have called the “largest and most challenging natural disaster” in their history.
In South-East Asia, the end of 2025 was marked by devastating super typhoons, flash flooding, and landslides. At the beginning of November, US and Philippine troops deployed to conduct joint disaster relief operations amid back-to-back super typhoons, Kalmaegi and Fung-Wong, which made landfall in the northeastern provinces of the Philippines. Although upwards of 1 million people were evacuated from high-risk areas, more than 230 people died in the Philippines alone. Approximately 500 US military personnel, six C-130s, four MV-22s, and three HH-60 helicopters from across the US services deployed to Clark Air Base and Camp Aguinaldo to transport food packs and facilitate relief efforts.
Militaries across Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia deployed in the same month to respond to record flooding across the region. In Indonesia, over 440 people were killed, and officials have called the floods the deadliest natural disaster in Indonesia since the 2018 earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi. The Indonesian Air Force (TNI) deployed aircraft to deliver logistics via airdrop in the Sibolga area, North Sumatra, using the Air Force’s Hercules transport aircraft, CN 295, and Casa 212 aircraft. The scale and types of deployment in Indonesia are significant, with nearly 50,000 military and police personnel deployed in late December to rebuild homes, schools, and other critical infrastructure. Vietnamese troops have also been tapped to help with home construction in the wake of floods. In January, the Indonesian military had to deploy again, with over 13,290 troops as part of a broader mobilization of 128,000 emergency personnel in response to relentless flooding and the threat of strengthening cyclones off the coast.
In South Asia, the Sri Lankan and Indian militaries deployed to Sri Lanka to support disaster relief efforts after deadly Cyclone Ditwah. Heavy flooding caused by Ditwah led to the overflow of the Kelani River, Sri Lanka’s fourth-largest, submerging the surrounding region and impacting more than 1 million people. Over 640 people were reported dead, with hundreds more missing. In response, the Sri Lankan military, alongside 24,000 Indian troops, engaged in search-and-rescue and the reinstallation of essential services.
In South America, Bolivian troops from multiple services were deployed in mid-December after the Pirai River flooded in central Bolivia, leading to a national state of emergency. In the new year, troops from Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay deployed in response to wildfires that broke out in Patagonia during a dry summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
In North America, US National Guard troops were deployed in Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington state to respond to severe storms in December.
In Africa, the South African Defence Force (SANDF) deployed to support numerous flood-stricken communities early in 2026 in both South Africa and Mozambique following heavy rains.
Torrential rains and subsequent flooding hit the East Coast of New Zealand in late January. In response, the New Zealand Defence Forces (NZDF) were mobilized to support community health, situational awareness, search and rescue, and deliver supplies.
Recently, militaries have also deployed in response to extreme cold waves. In January, Winter Storm Fern swept across the eastern United States, leading to National Guard deployments in 18 states, including, Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. While research is ongoing in the scientific community on the impact of climate change on the intensity of such events, it is accepted that current climate models overwhelmingly project less frequent and intense cold extremes over time. For these reasons, these deployments have not been added to the MiRCH database, but are noted here as other examples of extreme weather events and military deployments.
With these updates, the MiRCH has documented 654 military deployments in 103 countries for climate-related hazards between June 2022 and January 2026–roughly averaging one every 2 days.