"climate change has the potential to destabilise various systems and institutions while simultaneously deepening the schisms between communities. The unpredictable and pervasive nature of COVID-19 has influenced security conflicts across the globe in numerous ways. A few broad trends have come to light. Firstly, terrorist and extremist groups have used the pandemic as an opportunity to step up their attacks across different conflict theatres. These include Nigeria where Boko Haram is active, and Syria and Iraq where the so-called Islamic State has been ramping up its presence. Such an escalation of violence is due to the increased governmental reliance on military troops across different regions to handle the pandemic, reducing their capacity to effectively protect targets from attacks. For instance, the Indian military in Kashmir has been called on to engage with quarantine facilities as well as enforcement of social distancing, thus allowing terrorist groups to conduct more cross border attacks. Secondly, terror groups have also launched viral misinformation campaigns to increase the mayhem and chaos that has stemmed from the crisis, and various governments’ (mis)handling of the situation. This included highlighting the failing official responses as a reason to contend against the legitimacy of different governments, as highlighted in Egypt and Libya, targeting minorities as the cause of spreading the virus as was done by far right groups in the West as well as Hindu extremists in India. This also helped in capitalising on the polarisation of society to recruit more people, as was attempted by pro-Islamic State entities in India. Lastly, terrorist groups have also been engaged in providing emergency aid services to affected populations. This is both a matter of necessity, especially for terrorist groups that control territory (such as the Taliban), and an opportunity for those who want to underscore their ability to perform better than the government..."