As extreme weather events are on a rise in India, ranging from droughts and floods to heatwaves and hailstorms, climate migration is being fuelled and the nation’s poorest are being compelled to abandon their homes, land, and livelihoods. A survey conducted across three Indian states in over 1,000 households revealed that almost 70 percent of respon- dents migrated immediately after such weather disasters, reported the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Seasonal migration was predominantly observed by people hit by droughts and floods that caused harm to crops, or by cyclones that damaged fishing activities. India’s poorest demographic that comprises of small farmers and people practising other primary occupations, finds it hard to cope with the extent of damage caused by severe weather as the country reaches towards impending rising sea levels, more heatwaves and cyclones. These events add extra pressure onto people who already struggle for the bare minimum, forcing them out of their homes, into the margins of society. When their migration patterns were studied, the report found that the poor often sell their belongings and take loans at exploitative and predatory interest rates to finance their migration. The trends reveal that the migration is often to nearby urban centres and then to metro cities, where they are forced to take-up unskilled jobs. The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 ranks India among the top 10 countries most affected by climate change. In 2020 alone, India suffered the most devastating locust at- tack in decades, three cyclones, a pan-nation heatwave and flooding that claimed several lives and forced even more to migrate. Data shows that in India, about 14 million people may have migrated this year due to the slow-burn climate change. Slow-burn climate impacts could cause countries in the region to lose about 2% of their GDP by 2050, rising to a loss of nearly 9% by 2100. It has become the need of the hour to factor climate scenarios into account while formulating policies, which is not being practised yet. While the developed countries have a historical responsibility towards climate change, the developing nations must brace themselves for the future.
10 Jan 2022
Aarya Trivedi
