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A Climate of Displaced People

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Nick Chapin
Topics: Climate and Environment, Conflict and War, Humanitarian Aid
Countries: China, Denmark
A man delivers his goods through a flooded street in Mumbai, India. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hussain_quantum/3698717526/">Hussain_Quantum (flickr)</a>
A man delivers his goods through a flooded street in Mumbai, India. Photo: Hussain_Quantum (flickr)

It should be no surprise that armed conflicts force millions of people from their homes each year. In fact, 4.6 million people were displaced by conflict and war in 2008. But I was shocked to learn that the number of people displaced by climate change is four-times greater than those displaced by conflict. That's about 20 million people — roughly the population of Australia — that have been forced to relocate because of natural disasters like flooding, earthquakes and storms.

This figure comes from a joint study by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and is the first large-scale look at how climate change is effecting human populations. It provides data on exactly how carbon emissions have affected human lives, and it offers a somewhat harsh glimpse into what will happen if the situation is left unchecked.

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Keywords: climate change, displacement, natural disaster, United Nations

Comments

Fri, 11/20/2009 - 11:21 — Chelsea Wieber in Portland, OR

Peru Earthquake Only Non-Climate Change Disaster in 2007

The UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs responded to 13 natural disasters in 2007. Of those, the Peru earthquake was the only disaster that wasn't related to climate change.

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