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International Journal of
Population Studies Climate change, migration, and displacement

address the climate change problem. In addition, discourse change on migration tend to be indirect (Suckalla et al.,
analysis enabled the assessment of the dispersal of climate 2016). Moreover, rapid-onset climatic disasters, specifically
risks and migration tendencies, together with the possible floods and storms, and their severe consequences such as
directions of sustainable measures proposed in the cyclones, are among the frequent causes of displacement
academic discourses regarding the issues under discussion. from the home for affected individuals. With a regular
As a result of combining Boolean search strategies and cycle, Mother Nature welcomes warmer, cooler, wetter,
discourse analysis, this method provided a nuanced yet or more dry seasons in a sequential fashion every year.
thorough understanding of the relationship between However, human activities have significantly altered these
climate change, migration, and sustainable solutions. patterns, toward the more extreme end of the spectrum,
leading to large-scale displacement of people, with
3. Relationship of climate change with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 devastating the Gulf Coast of
migration and displacement the United States (Sastry & Gregory, 2014) and the Pakistan
3.1. Climate change as a key factor for migration floods in 2022 forcing millions to desert their homes due
and displacement to submerged vast lands (Nanditha et al., 2023) as notable
examples. Desertification, sea-water encroachment, and
It has been found that the climate change-induced migration glacial melting are considered slow-onset climate events
of women is more common in the developing world than causing slow migration, whereas quick-onset disasters lead
in developed countries (WHO, 2008; Mugambiwa, 2021). to a speedy forced relocation (Mugambiwa & Makhubele,
The impacts of climate change in the developing world are 2023). For instance, people may be displaced for several
largely manifested as slow-onset events, such as gradually days to drought-affected areas within regions that are not
worsening desertification, drought, and rising sea levels, directly experiencing drought. However, once these people
as well as sudden-onset disasters such as flooding and return home, their attempts to sustain their livelihoods
hurricanes (Mugambiwa, 2024). Due to the high reliance on would have failed due to the devastating effects of other
productive land for a variety of economic activities, along gradual environmental changes.
with the natural season changes, most communities will be
left with no alternative but to move and search for better 3.2. Vulnerabilities and displacement patterns
conditions for habitation if these events occur. Migration Vulnerable populations, particularly the underprivileged
is commonly triggered by a few causes, but climate change in many developing countries, face climate-induced
also serves as an important driver for other factors that displacement in much larger proportions (Brzoska &
contribute to migration such as poverty, conflicts, and Frohlich, 2016). For instance, most rural farmers and
resource depletion (Alverio et al., 2024). In the context aboriginals who depend on rainfall for their crops may
of climate change, most families would opt for migration not possess the appropriate means and capacity to adapt
because their activities become no longer sustainable by to the shift in the environment, making them more
the environmentally inferior conditions they were put into. susceptible to involuntary relocation (Mpandeli et al.,
Migration is consistently becoming synonymous 2020). Displacement patterns are neither linear nor one-
with climate change, especially in a world where the dimensional. Some individuals may decide to internally
environment is changing for the worse and people cannot migrate with the intention of settling in urban centers
cope with the changes (Berlemann & Steinhardt, 2017). As while others may attempt to move abroad to seek safety.
the world gets warmer, organic systems are being altered Migration due to the consequences of climate change or
frequently and radically, causing alterations in the effect eviction as a result of certain elements of the environment
of precipitation, increased extreme weather events, and constitute the major environmentally induced migration
increasing water levels (IPPC, 2013; Dell et al., 2014). These trends (Suckalla et al., 2016). The majority of these
environmental changes affect agricultural yields, water migration trends are found in areas vulnerable to climatic
resource availability, and the habitability of whole climatic hazards such as droughts, flooding, and rising sea levels.
regions, pushing people and communities to seek better Vulnerability tends to exist within the confines of certain
living conditions. For instance, in Sub-Saharan Africa, socioeconomic features including poverty, as well as the
desertification resulted in land loss, forcing people to look absence of infrastructure, good governance, health care,
for job opportunities in cities and towns (Mpandeli et al., and education, which leave individuals and communities
2020; Mugambiwa & Makhubele, 2023). While people incapable of adapting to climate change (Giovanni et al.,
consider climate change a contributor to aggravating 2015). For example, in Africa and Asia, rural farmers
existing vulnerabilities, such as poverty, improper dependent on agriculture that relies heavily on rainfall,
governance, and resource scarcity, the impacts of climate tend to migrate when droughts due to climate change are

Volume 11 Issue 4 (2025) 9 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.5165