Swift Climate Action Could Prevent 80% of Domestic Migration by 2050
Climate change could force more than 216 million people to move within their countries by mid-century, World Bank says
Men dig for water in the dry Mandrare river bed, in Madagascar.
Photographer: Laetitia Bezain/APClimate change effects like drought and sea level rise could result in more than 216 million people migrating within their own countries by mid-century, according to a World Bank report released on Monday.
As much as 80% of that could be prevented with swift action to cut emissions, the report found. Countries have to “close development gaps, restore vital ecosystems, and help people adapt,” World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development Juergen Voegele wrote. If they don’t, “hotspots of climate migration will emerge as soon as within the next decade and intensify by 2050.”