Climate Change Expected to Displace 216 Million People by 2050, Report Says

"Climate change impacts are projected to displace 216 million people in developing regions by 2050," reports Tim McDonnell.

That's the conclusion of a new report from the World Bank, which predicts that sea-level rise and water scarcity will be the primary driving force of climate-related displacement—some of which will occur within the borders of existing countries and even within city limits.

"As early as 2030, cities like Cairo, Hanoi, Dhaka, Tashkent could become climate immigration hotspots. The latest report, which focuses primarily on North Africa, East Asia, and Central Asia, builds on a document from 2018 that focused on sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia," explains McDonnell.

The World Bank report echoes the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report from August of this year, saying that every degree of warming that can be mitigated through emission reductions will have an impact on the number of migrants later in the century—and the conditions they will face as they move around their countries.

"People move around anyway, and urbanization has been growing for decades," writes McDonnell. "The challenge, highlighted by the report, is to ensure that destination locations are ready, with safe, affordable housing, employment opportunities, and sufficient public services for a growing population."