How Many People In The US Have Become ‘Climate Migrants’? The Numbers Might Shock You
The raging climate emergency is already compelling millions of people across the globe to abandon their homes to seek refuge from devastating droughts, rising sea levels and other disasters. But that migration is also happening in the US.
Climate change is making parts of the country virtually inhospitable. Roughly 3.2 million people in the US have migrated due to the risk of flooding, the First Street Foundation, a non-profit that studies climate risks, said in a report.
Climate Abandonment Areas Exist Even In Some Of The Fastest-Growing Metro Areas
Published in the journal Nature-Communications, the research focuses on ‘climate abandonment areas’ or locations that saw the local population drop between 2000 and 2020 owing to the mounting dangers linked to the climate crisis.
Several of those areas are in parts of the US that also have seen an increase of migration during the past 20 years, including Texas and Florida. Such communities risk an economic downward spiral as population loss causes a decline in property values and local services.
Climate abandonment areas exist across the country, even in some of the fastest-growing metro areas. Some 513 counties saw their populations grow at a faster-than-average rate during the last 20 years, yet they also included neighbourhoods that lost population.
Most of those areas are concentrated in the Gulf Coast of Texas, most of coastal Florida, and Mid-Atlantic region between Washington DC and New Jersey. Bexar County in Texas appears to be the most affected municipality.
Between 2000 and 2020, the county added at least 644,000 new residents but still lost population in about 17% of its Census blocks. Other countries recording the largest share of migration include El Paso county in Texas and Will County in Illinois.
Midwest Likely To Take A Big Hit
The study also sought to find regions of the US that are likely to face climate migration in the coming decades. Perhaps surprisingly, Midwestern states including Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio face some of the highest risks.
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That may seem contrary to intuition or two common-sense expectation. But the reason is due to the forecast that coastal areas of the country are likely to remain appealing to people searching for better jobs, despite the risks related to climate change.
