While wars and revolutions have long threatened national cultural heritage sites — most recently in Iran and Ukraine — a new danger has emerged in the form of climate change .

UNESCO World Heritage sites from the 4,000 year-old pyramid temples in Iraq to the ancient statues of Easter Island are facing extreme erosion and deterioration as temperatures rise and storms and droughts intensify. A 2025 study showed that 80% of World Heritage sites are facing climate stress as materials such as wood and stone struggle to adapt to a hotter world.

Here are a few of the world's most climate-vulnerable UNESCO-listed cultural sites.

'Cradle of civilization': Ziggurat of Ur

Thousands of years of history could vanish as rising temperatures drive extreme erosion across Iraq's World Heritage-listed ancient southern cities due to climate change.

The legendary Ziggurat of Ur, a 4,000-year old pyramid temple built in homage to the moon god Nanna, is crumbling as shifting sand dunes and extreme winds wear away at its…