Environmental migration

Environmental migration is human movement driven partly or wholly by environmental change or disaster. It includes movement within countries and across borders, whether temporary or permanent.

Disaster displacement: The forced movement of people from their homes because of a disaster or its immediate effects. Sudden hazards can drive rapid flight, often before longer-term migration decisions arise.
Climate change: Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, driven by natural processes and human activity. Human-caused climate change intensifies some hazards and alters the conditions behind migration.
Cyclone Nargis: A powerful tropical cyclone that struck Myanmar in May 2008, killing tens of thousands of people. Its destruction displaced large numbers of people in the Irrawaddy Delta.
Climate refugee: An informal label for someone displaced by climate-related impacts, without a distinct status in international refugee law. The phrase is common, but it can wrongly suggest an established legal category.
Remittances: Money or goods that migrants send to people in their places of origin. These transfers can help households recover from shocks and reduce exposure to future risks.
Planned relocation: The organized movement of people away from places exposed to serious hazards or environmental change. Governments and communities may move settlements when repeated exposure makes staying unsafe.
Environmental change: A lasting or temporary alteration in the physical environment, caused by natural processes or human activity. This broader category includes degradation and sudden hazards beyond climate change alone.
Hurricane Katrina: A major Atlantic hurricane that struck the Gulf Coast of the United States in August 2005. The disaster caused extensive displacement, with unequal resources shaping who could return.
Environmental displacement: The forced movement of people caused by environmental hazards or change. Displacement emphasizes coercion, whereas environmental migration also includes voluntary and planned movement.
Urbanization: The growth in the share of a population living in urban areas. Environmental migration can add to urban growth, especially where rural livelihoods become less reliable.

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