Climate-Induced Migration:
The Indian Scenario
Climate-induced displacement and migration are widely discussed and debated across the globe; yet, there is no universally agreed definition of the phenomenon. Broadly, it refers to the movement of people driven by sudden or progressive changes in the weather or climate.1 Indeed, while some research indicates that environmental disasters decrease migration,2 others show that they increase migration,3 or have no effect on it.4 This also illustrates the complexity of the nexus between migration and environmental disasters.5 A detailed study conducted by Suleri and Savage in 2006 found that the intensity of the environmental disaster determines its impact on migration; and appropriate measures can be taken through long and short-term initiatives since households suffer a loss of income due to the destruction of productive assets, the death or injury of wage earners, the loss of local jobs, the return of wage earners from distant cities, or the disruption of the flow of remittances.
