NEVER-ENDING STORM BREWING

The varying and extreme weather events which have taken place this year are a stark reminder to everyone of an issue that is all too easily ignored. From heatwave Lucifer in the Northern Hemisphere, to the four major Hurricanes - Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria - in the Southern Hemisphere, the results of these events have brought back to light the importance of climate change as a global phenomenon that affects everyone.

In addition, due to the level of destruction inflicted on urban areas caught in the Hurricanes path, another concern which is often neglected in the West has resurfaced: refugees. In this case more specifically: environmental refugees (also known as environmental migrant, climate refugee or climate migrant)

The term “environmental refugee” was devised to refer to people who are forced to leave their homes, temporarily or permanently, due to a marked environmental disruption, either natural or man-made, that can either jeopardise their existence and/or seriously affect the quality of their life.

In 2016, there were 31.1 million new internal displacements, according to figures released by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. From this number, 24.2 million displacements were caused by disasters, and 6.9 million displacements were caused by conflict and violence.

And while the terms “economic migrant” (which describes those seeking to pursue work in other countries) and “refugee” (which describes those seeking refuge from war, conflict and persecution) are legally recognised, the term “environmental refugee” is not. Rarely are the voices of refugees heard, but it seems this is even more the case for environmental refugees.

In 2015, a man’s request to be recognised as the world’s first climate refugee was denied, and he was deported back to his home country. The man was from Kiribati, an island in the Central Pacific, whose 94,000 inhabitants risk being totally submerged by 2070, due to rising sea water. The island’s government has proposed a gradual resettlement program, which would see the population relocate to neighbouring islands, such as New Zealand.

While it is easy to recognise people in need of temporary or permanent relocation due to a natural fast occurring disaster, such as a landslide, tsunami or hurricane, slower or long-term afflicting disasters, such as desertification, submersion or drought aren’t so straightforward.  In developing countries, climate often causes a vicious circle of events.

For example, long-term drought can cause repeated crop failures, which in turn deepens poverty in communities that can already be marginalised and harassed by their state. When Somalis migrated to Kenyan refugee camps following periods of drought which caused widespread famine, they cited livelihood as their prime reason for seeking refuge.

And while the land may become increasingly arid, the atmosphere is becoming increasingly humid. Warmer air can hold more water, for every degree Celsius that the temperature rises, the air can hold seven per cent more water.

According to data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the region of the Atlantic sea surface had temperatures above average by 0.5?C to 1?C. The high temperatures cause hurricanes to store more water, which would explain the 50 inches (1.23 metres) of rain dropped by Hurricane Harvey over Houston.

This hurricane season saw the evacuation of over 6.3 million people in Florida. It also caused widespread destruction, mainly on the Caribbean Islands. On the islands of St Martin and St Barthelemy, it is estimated that 6 out of 10 homes are inhabitable. In Barbuda 95% of the buildings are damaged. Hurricane Harvey has caused up to ￡68bn costs of damage, and Hurricane Irma has caused ￡7.6bn of damage in the Caribbean alone.

While we often discuss the economic strain caused by any refugee searching to better their lives, it is clear to see that we have no one else to blame but ourselves at the cost of destruction after a natural disaster. Climate change is a global concern that affects all of us, whether directly or indirectly.

We witnessed first hand how the Syrian conflict in the Middle East rippled over the rest of the world. It is becoming increasingly important that we recognise the effects of climate change and how it affects everyone globally.  Especially those already seeking help seeking to be recognised in the form of environmental refugees.

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