What is Climate Migration?

Climate change is creating many crises. For example, water resources are decreasing worldwide, droughts are increasing, and sea levels are rising. People living in coastal cities are forced to leave their homes due to rising sea levels. At the same time, extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods, and forest fires threaten living spaces and the safety of living things. The deterioration of agricultural lands also leads to food insecurity. This situation is a major problem, especially in societies dependent on agriculture.

These disasters have gradually led to the emergence of a new type of migration called “climate migration.” Climate migration refers to the migration of people to safer areas due to natural disasters or environmental and ecological disruptions, or the relocation of people in order to meet their food, shelter, economic and social needs.

Climate change creates an extensive world-wide crisis, not only in terms of environment, but also in terms of social, economic, and social impacts. Our planet became a warmer place increasingly due to greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere as a result of intense use of fossil fuels for years, industrialization, deforestation, loss of biological diversity and insensible interventions to nature. This situation has turned the balance of everything upside down, from seasonal cycles to water resources, from agriculture to eco-systems. However, one of the impacts of climate change, which is least spoken of but as critical, is that it results in displacement of millions of people.

Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), an institution publishing global terrorism and peace indexes each year, warned that climate crisis can displace 1.2 billion people by 2050.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) defines this concept as “mobility of a person or groups of persons who, as a result of sudden or progressive changes in the environment due to climate change, move away from their place of usual residence, either temporarily or permanently, whether within a country or across an international border.”

​Climate migration means forcible migration of people to other places due to the impacts of climate change. This type of migration sometimes remains limited to temporary relocation while at other times, it creates a necessity to start a new life permanently.

The main reasons for climate migration can be listed as follows:

• Extreme weather events and temperature changes
• Extreme weather events such as severe floods, hurricanes, tornadoes etc. becoming frequent
• Extreme drought
• Decrease in and drying out of potable water resources
• Increase in epidemics
• Rises occurring at sea levels
• Flooding of habitats and agricultural areas
• Rapid decrease in the yield of agriculture

Human Impacts of Migration
Climate migration has so many impacts on migrating people. Migrating individuals start a new life while they experience challenges in accessing basic needs such as healthcare, education, and employment. Climate migrants can also be challenged in blending with local people where they move. Infrastructural insufficiencies and economic limitations in the migrated regions reduce quality of life both for migrants and local people.

Today, millions of people are in the search for a more secure life, from people who lost their homes with the rising sea levels in Bangladesh to the communities in the Middle East who are forced to migrate due to increasing drought and water scarcity.

Some regions come to the fore since they experience impacts of climate change more intensely and people are being forced to migrate. These regions are under notable risk due to their geographical locations, climate characteristics and economic conditions. Here are some regions experiencing the most negative impacts of climate change:

1. South Asia: South Asia, especially Bangladesh, is one of the regions most affected from climate change. Millions of people are facing displacement risk in Bangladesh due to rising of sea levels. Moreover, the impacts of climate disasters are enhanced with intense population and infrastructural insufficiencies. And in India, agriculture industry is in a tough spot due to increased temperatures, water scarcity and drought. This situation can trigger migration waves in the region.

2. Middle East and North Africa: Middle East and North Africa are among the regions which experience most severe levels of water scarcity and drought. Water resources are rapidly diminishing especially in countries such as Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. With the drought in agricultural fields and increasing temperature, communities in the region are forced to leave their villages. This situation especially increases migration pressure for neighboring countries such as Türkiye.

3. Pacific Islands: Island countries in the Pacific Ocean are among the places which are most affected by climate change. Rising sea levels poses a threat of complete destruction for the islands. This situation causes people in the island countries to be forced to migrate in massive quantities. Countries such as Fiji, Tuvalu and Kiribati are among the most known examples which face this threat.

The negative impacts of climate change become more obvious every day in environmental, economic, social, and political areas. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports indicate that the severity of climate change will increase, and this can cause more conflicts in the world due to climate migration.

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) predicts that 250 million to 1 billion people will be forced to migrate from their homes due to climate change between 2016 and 2050.

Türkiye is located at the junction point of Europe, Asia, and Middle East. This strategic location puts Türkiye in the center of various migration routes. In addition, the country is a neighbor to the Middle Eastern countries which are intensely affected by problems such as water scarcity and extreme hot weathers. And this makes Türkiye one of the important stops for migration waves triggered by climate change. Located at the junction point of migration routes, Türkiye is facing various challenges with the increasing numbers of climate migrants in social, economic, and infrastructural terms.

To learn more about the impacts of climate crisis on Türkiye, you can check our blog post here.​​

Experts anticipate that flows of migration to Türkiye may increase due to climate change. With the impact of climate change in the region, problems such as destruction of agricultural fields and extreme temperatures are increasing. In the coming years, people in neighboring countries such as Syria, Iraq, Iran who are displaced due to these problems may be forced to migrate because of climate crisis. Türkiye needs to be prepared for this wave of migration in terms of border security, resource management and social cohesion. This ever-increasing wave of migration creates economic and social burdens for Türkiye.

So what should be done about climate migration? Turkey can take various measures to cope with climate migration. For example, it is important to take steps in areas such as regulating immigrant admission policies, sustainable urban planning and resource management. In addition, Turkey needs to seek international cooperation to manage the migration problem caused by climate change. Global cooperation can provide more effective solutions to the climate migration crisis.

Climate change has a major impact on human mobility and migration, and this will become even more evident in the coming years. The negative impacts of the climate crisis have not only environmental but also social and economic consequences. Countries like Turkey, which are at the intersection of migration routes, must develop long-term and sustainable policies to manage this difficult process. Measures to be taken, especially in areas such as infrastructure investments, social projects that promote social cohesion and integration into the labor market, can minimize the negative effects that climate migration may create.