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Anticipate climate migration
The impacts of climate change such as crop failures, water scarcity, storm surges and the rise in sea levels are among factors causing such migration.
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Since the start of the 21st century, heatwaves have claimed tens of thousands of lives, even in countries best equipped to help their citizen cope. In western Europe, for example, there were more than 70,000 excess death during the blistering summer of 2003. (Shutterstock/File)
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recent World Bank study, titled “Groundswell — Preparing for Internal Climate Migration”, highlights the impact of climate change on migration which, if not anticipated, can cause a significant humanitarian emergency.
There could be a migration of more than 143 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America by 2050, the study said. These three areas represent 55 percent of the countries considered to be of developing status, which will experience “internal climate migration” (moving to other places within national borders), which in turn affects the quality of life and the country’s development path.
The impacts of climate change such as crop failures, water scarcity, storm surges and the rise in sea levels are among factors causing such migration. The largest proportion of migrants will end up in urban areas, increasing cities’ vulnerability to poverty, unemployment, crime and land conversion. Rapid population growth is likely to worsen this internal migration.
The World Bank warns us of the urgent need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and to have good development planning. If the impact of climate change can be reduced drastically the number of “climate migrants” can be reduced by more than 80 percent to around 40 million by 2050.
