E.g., 06/21/2026
E.g., 06/21/2026
Climate Migration

Climate Migration

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Climate change is a driver of human migration that many people expect will dwarf all others in its impact. While the effects of climate change on migration have generated significant attention, some of the most commonly repeated predictions of the numbers of people who will be displaced are not informed by an understanding of migration dynamics. Displacement is almost always a result of a complex mix of factors; people adapt to changes and governments (and a few other powerful actors) can influence what kind of movements take place in response to environmental changes.

Recent Activity

Cover image for Funding Climate Mobility Projects...
Policy Briefs
March 2025
By  Lawrence Huang and Samuel Davidoff-Gore
Cover image for Engaging Local Communities for More Effective Climate Mobility Programming
Policy Briefs
October 2024
By  Lawrence Huang and Camille Le Coz
Cover image for Displacement and International Protection in a Warming World
Policy Briefs
September 2024
By  Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Lawrence Huang
Cover image for The Role of Immigrant Workers in the Green Transition
Policy Briefs
September 2024
By  Kate Hooper and Lawrence Huang
Cover image for Public Opinion of Climate Migrants
Policy Briefs
September 2024
By  Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan and Lawrence Huang
Cover image for The State of Global Mobility in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Reports
April 2024
By  Meghan Benton, Lawrence Huang, Jeanne Batalova and Tino Tirado
Cover image for Green Reintegration
Policy Briefs
September 2023
By  Camille Le Coz and Ravenna Sohst
Cover image for Migration Narratives in Northern Central America
Reports
June 2023
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Alejandra Lopez and Alejandro Vélez Salas
People cross a bridge in the middle of a flooded city in Pakistan.

Floods and other environmental crises have caused massive displacement in Pakistan, most of this migration remaining within the country. Often, climate-displaced people go to the megacity of Karachi, where many settle permanently. This article offers perspectives from climate migrants living in several informal settlements in Karachi.

People walk along an embankment in Bangladesh

While the term "climate refugee” is often used colloquially, people displaced by environmental factors are not actually eligible for refugee status on that basis. However, policymakers and advocates have begun to experiment with approaches to protection by other means. This article reviews the initiatives, including a novel visa in Australia and the ways that longstanding legal frameworks have been used to encompass people deeply affected by climate change.

A woman in Zimbabwe pushes a wheelbarrow.

When agricultural communities are displaced by conflict or the impacts of climate change, women often assume new roles as primary providers while men lose their traditional breadwinner status. This shift can create both opportunities and risks. This article details the dynamics, focusing on experiences in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Women at a site for displaced people in Niger.

Migration governance in Africa's Sahel region has been been pulled in different directions, torn between security-focused border restrictions and economic visions for free movement. New complexity was added after Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger withdrew from the regional ECOWAS bloc. This articles provides insight on the migration and policy trends in a dynamic region.

A student at a school in Yemen attended by many displaced children.

Children and youth who are displaced by climate events face unique barriers to accessing and completing school. Children comprise a disproportionately large share of the world’s forcibly displaced people, and even temporary displacement can have permanent ramifications for their education, livelihood prospects, and well-being. This article explores the connections between climate change, mobility, and education.

Photo of a group of women collecting water from a riverbed in Kenya
Short Reads
October 2022
By  Lawrence Huang
Image of Central American migrant caravan passing through Chiapas, Mexico
Short Reads
April 2022
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee
Climate Change Is Making People Sick. Can Migration Help?
Expert Q&A, Audio
May 26, 2026

Leaving a climate-vulnerable place can potentially lead to better health outcomes for individuals, but only under the right circumstances. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration features economist and researcher Ilse Ruyssen, who discusses the intersection of climate change, migration, and health.

Priced Out: Climate Change, Home Insurance, and the People Stuck in the Middle
Expert Q&A, Audio
April 23, 2026

Climate change is making home insurance more expensive and less available, which can push some people to relocate or force others to either pay more money or go without insurance and risk catastrophe. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration features Talley Burley from the Environmental Defense Fund.

First Displacement, then Disasters: How Refugees Contend with Climate Change
Expert Q&A, Audio
April 9, 2026

Refugees are among the people most vulnerable to climate change. This episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast focuses on these impacts, with insights from Ayoo Irene Hellen, a South Sudanese refugee in Uganda and climate advocate. 

Climate Displacement from Indigenous Lands
Expert Q&A, Audio
February 23, 2026

What happens when climate change and other factors force Indigenous people off their ancestral homelands? Environmental scientist Jessica Hernandez, a climate justice and Indigenous advocate, joins this episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast to discuss the factors compelling migration for Indigenous communities, their experiences after migration and the dearth of Indigenous voices in policy discussions.

River in Udaipur region during the dry season. Several families have lost their houses
Video, Audio
January 27, 2026

This webinar focuses on how climate change is altering human mobility and offers insights into on-the-ground experiences of climate change and migration in East Africa, South Asia, and other global contexts.

Recent Activity

Articles

Floods and other environmental crises have caused massive displacement in Pakistan, most of this migration remaining within the country. Often, climate-displaced people go to the megacity of Karachi, where many settle permanently. This article offers perspectives from climate migrants living in several informal settlements in Karachi.

Expert Q&A, Audio
May 26, 2026

Leaving a climate-vulnerable place can potentially lead to better health outcomes for individuals, but only under the right circumstances. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration features economist and researcher Ilse Ruyssen, who discusses the intersection of climate change, migration, and health.

Expert Q&A, Audio
April 23, 2026

Climate change is making home insurance more expensive and less available, which can push some people to relocate or force others to either pay more money or go without insurance and risk catastrophe. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration features Talley Burley from the Environmental Defense Fund.

Expert Q&A, Audio
April 9, 2026

Refugees are among the people most vulnerable to climate change. This episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast focuses on these impacts, with insights from Ayoo Irene Hellen, a South Sudanese refugee in Uganda and climate advocate. 

Articles

While the term "climate refugee” is often used colloquially, people displaced by environmental factors are not actually eligible for refugee status on that basis. However, policymakers and advocates have begun to experiment with approaches to protection by other means. This article reviews the initiatives, including a novel visa in Australia and the ways that longstanding legal frameworks have been used to encompass people deeply affected by climate change.

Expert Q&A, Audio
February 23, 2026

What happens when climate change and other factors force Indigenous people off their ancestral homelands? Environmental scientist Jessica Hernandez, a climate justice and Indigenous advocate, joins this episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast to discuss the factors compelling migration for Indigenous communities, their experiences after migration and the dearth of Indigenous voices in policy discussions.

Video, Audio, Webinars
January 27, 2026

This webinar focuses on how climate change is altering human mobility and offers insights into on-the-ground experiences of climate change and migration in East Africa, South Asia, and other global contexts.

Expert Q&A, Audio
January 26, 2026

Africa may be the most climate-vulnerable region of the world. How prepared is the continent for a future of increased displacement? This episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast speaks with Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo, a senior research consultant at the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies.