ABSTRACT
Climate change in South Asia is a crucial study topic from the point of view of its geographical location and the vulnerable living condition of the highly dense population in the plains and coastal areas. Its geographical coverage comprises both tropical and sub-tropical thermal zones. Its physical uniqueness is the existence of climate-controlling factors like lofty Himalayas in the North and open warm water bodies like the Indian Ocean and others in the South. Monsoon vagaries and their associated features guide and shape the life, livelihood and economy of the people. From a climatic standpoint, population has a high susceptibility to changes in the environment which range from slow-onset events like desertification or the occurrence of extreme hotness and dryness of the atmosphere, sea-level rise or soil degradation to rapid-onset events like flood, drought, cyclone and so on. People living in the southern part of the continent are part of a poor agro-based economic zone. Hence, when they are affected by extreme climate change, migration turns out to be the determining decision. Socio-economic and socio-political conditions sometimes play a smoothing role in their ability to adapt to these changes. Otherwise, they become victims of the changed situation and often try to relocate themselves as environmental refugees. This could even happen in the form of crossing international borders. Human migration is always a subject at risk for the future. There are always potential risks of adaptation failure and low resilience from the victimised parties. Hence, good management from humanitarian, social and political perspectives based on the psychological adaptability of the victimised people are decisive factors to be dealt with. The focus of this chapter is on how migrated people are dealing with the changed climate and how they are being dealt with by the decision-makers in their new environments.
