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that human mobility will be affected and, in turn, will impact ISSUE No. 447
the ways in which countries adapt to environmental changes
associated with climate change. There are four specific pathways
through which climate change may directly or, in conjunction with
other factors, affect human mobility:
1. Changes in regional weather patterns (climate) contribute to

long-term drought trends that affect access to essential resources
such as water. This negatively impacts the sustainability of
livelihoods linked to the environment, including agriculture,
forests, and fishing.
2. Rising sea levels, desertification, melting permafrost, and
other climate changes rendering coastal, low-lying, arid, and
other areas, unsuitable for long-term human
habitation.
3. Increased frequency and intensity of
climate-related extreme events such
as heatwaves, floods, hurricanes, and
storms destroy infrastructure and
livelihoods, requiring people to move to
other places for short or long periods.
4. Competition for dwindling or
changing water and land resources
may exacerbate pressures
contributing to conflicts, thereby
accelerating people›s movements.
The lecture, through numbers and statistics,
affirmed the role of climate change in the increasing
forms of human mobility, its currents, and the
numbers of individuals displaced internally and
externally worldwide. The lecture presented
the following facts and figures:
Over the past decade, floods, storms,
wildfires, and other weather-related
disasters led to an average of 21.9
million displacements annually
worldwide.
In 2022, the number of displaced
individuals due to floods, storms,
wildfires, and other weather-
related disasters increased to 31.8
million people—more than twice the number
of those displaced due to conflict and violence.
By 2030, an estimated 50% of the world›s population will reside
in coastal areas exposed to floods, storms, and tsunami waves.
These phenomena are expected to increase in frequency and size
in many regions, raising the risk of displacement in the future.

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