Climate migration requires attention
We were accustomed to hear stories of our grandparents, about abundant food production on farms. The land and the climate seemed perfect in combination. But, as the planet warms up, the clock of the earth is ticking and it is clear that planting and harvesting have been drastically impacted. Chaos has set in. According to a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the planet could see a greater temperature rise in the next 50 years than in the last 6,000 years combined. Many will give in, suffering from the heat, hunger and political issues, but others will be forced to move on.
A 2017 study by Science Advances found that by 2100, temperatures could rise to the point of just leaving the house for a few hours in some places, including parts of India and eastern China, where this “will result in death for even the fittest of humans”. People are already starting to flee. In Southeast Asia, where increasingly unpredictable and drought monsoon rains have hampered agriculture, the World Bank points to more than eight million people who have moved to the Middle East, Europe and North America. In the African Sahel, millions of rural people are migrating to the coasts and cities amid widespread drought and crop failures. If the escape from hot climates reaches the scale that current research suggests is likely, this will represent a vast remapping of world populations.
Climate change will transform more than 143 million people into “climate migrants” escaping crop failure, water scarcity, and sea-level rise, a new World Bank report concludes. The study’s authors say there is still reason for optimism: if the world acts in time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and engages in “robust development planning,” the flood of “climate migrants” could be reduced by 80 percent to a mere 40 million people. That’s why we need to pay more attention and read about it. I invite you to do this journey with me!
Thank you, Fatima, for sharing these figures! It's good to know more about climate migration.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your editorial, Fatima! I did some research on climate change as it is the main cause of all the megafires this year. You quoted some research that shows other devastating effects of climate change. My belief is just like yours - it's time to give priority to climate change mitigation.
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