A rise in extreme weather events in India — from droughts and floods to heat waves and hailstorms — is fueling climate migration as the nation's poorest are forced to abandon their homes, land and livelihoods, researchers said Tuesday.
In a survey of more than 1,000 households across three Indian states, nearly 70% of respondents said they migrated immediately after such weather disasters occurred, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) found.
Seasonal migration was high among people affected by droughts and floods that damaged crops, or by cyclones that hampered fishing, according to the study, which is one of the first to quantify the impacts of climate change on migration in India.