Climate Change and Induced Migration in South Asian Countries: Evidence from 2007 – 2023

Sk Karim, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Bhawna Verma, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Large-scale population displacements, historically driven by socio-economic factors and increasingly exacerbated by climate change, are a pressing global issue. This paper aims to understand the induced migration due to climate change in South Asian countries and their socio-economic impacts. Used MunichRe NatCatSERVICE data (2007-2023), one of the most reliable data sets available on the impacts of extreme weather events and associated socio-economic data. Global Climate Risk Index was developed for the analyses of quantified impacts of extreme weather events in terms of fatalities and economic losses. The CRI (2009-2023) analysed data from five of the top 10 most affected South Asian countries (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal). Bangladesh and Pakistan, the two South Asian developing countries had to suffer from a significant number of deaths and direct economic losses of more than US$ 10 and US$ 2 billion, respectively. Over the last decade, the Global Climate Risk Index (CRI) has ranked India and Pakistan among the top ten South Asian countries vulnerable to climate change. Back in 2009, Cyclone Aila displaced 2.3 million in India and nearly a million in Bangladesh. There is a need for a better understanding of the relationship between climate change and migration.

Keywords: Population, Environment, and Climate Change, Big data, Migrant Populations and Refugees, Health and Morbidity

See paper.