Devastating climate threats will lead to 140-million ‘climate migrants’ by 2050, study shows
Washington — The number of people fleeing crop failures, droughts and rising sea levels will grow drastically over the next three decades if world governments do not intervene, according to a World Bank report released on Monday. By 2050, 86-million "climate migrants" will be displaced in Sub-Saharan Africa, 40-million in South Asia and 17-million in Latin America — 143-million in all — according to the report, which the bank said was the first to address the question of migration spurred by climate change. These regions are home to more than half the developing world’s population, with 2.8% of inhabitants among those at risk, the report said. So far climate change has inexorably become an "engine of migration," forcing individuals, families and even whole communities to seek more viable homes, World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva said in prepared remarks presenting the report. "Every day, climate change becomes a more urgent economic, social and existential threat to countries and t...
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