ABSTRACT
Climate change, a major issue of global concern, is creating an impact across the lives and occupations of a large quantum of the global population and has engendered a large number of debates and controversies. However, there seems to be little recognition of a direct toll of climate change, namely the displacement of millions as a result of natural calamities and worsening of environmental conditions. The category of ‘environmental refugees’ seems to be omitted from the linguistics of international organizations and institutions and is being anticipated to emerge as a major global crisis in the years to come. This chapter primarily focuses on the issue of the region-wise vulnerability of India to persistent climatic events, including both slow-onset and rapid-onset events and their resultant implication on the dislocation of a large portion of the population, escalating internal migration. The chapter delves into the phenomenon of the changing morphology of the river Ganga as a slow-onset event and its impact on human displacement in the Malda district of West Bengal, India, using data from various secondary sources. For the case of a rapid-onset climatic event, the case of the Tamil Nadu floods of 2015 and the resultant population displacement is considered. A depiction of the precipitation anomaly is provided using secondary data, along with an account of the resultant deluge and the affected districts. Finally, the trend of rapid and unplanned urbanization is highlighted as a major cause of exacerbation of the flood situations, and it has been observed that the refuge-seeking population is mostly composed of economic migrants who had settled earlier in urban vicinities.
