Unpacking India’s Climate Migration Crisis: The Urgent Need for Effective Policies

In early June, heavy rains hit Northeast India, claiming at least 46 lives and displacing thousands. In Assam, over 260,000 people across 11 districts faced the fallout, with many villages submerged and crops ruined. The state struggled with landslides and broken transport links, with record rainfall intensifying the crisis.

In 2024, India saw 5.4 million people displaced by climate-related disasters, the highest in South Asia, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. Despite this alarming trend, India lacks a national plan to support climate-displaced individuals. Disasters are becoming more unpredictable, overwhelming traditional ways of coping. Regions like Odisha, West Bengal, and various northeastern states are now facing significant climate shocks.

While climate action plans exist, they don’t specifically tackle migration due to climate issues. A study from 2020 projected that by 2050, 45 million people in India might be forcibly displaced. In fact, floods were responsible for two-thirds of the displacements in 2024, marking the highest level since 2012.

Assam experienced nearly half of these displacements, driven by worsening floods and poor infrastructure. In contrast, states like Odisha and West Bengal have developed effective early warning systems for evacuations. Unfortunately, Tripura, lacking such systems, faced its worst floods in decades, displacing over 300,000 residents.

Yezdani Rahman from SEEDS, an environmental organization, emphasized the severity of the risk facing 225 districts, home to about 300 million people, from climate-induced migration. Many of these districts are already seeing regular migration patterns due to climate pressures, leading families to seek work in cities while leaving some members behind.

Without official statistics on climate migrants, it’s challenging to create effective policies. For instance, in Odisha, people now confront overlapping disasters every year, while in West Bengal, rising seas are intensifying flooding events. The former predictability of seasons has faded, creating instability.

Akshit Sangomla, a researcher, notes that the eastern states are bearing the brunt of these changes. In Assam, many rice farmers are abandoning their fields due to severe flooding. In other states like Jharkhand and Bihar, similar patterns of outward migration emerge regularly.

Southern states aren’t immune either. Kerala has faced significant flooding annually since 2018, while Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra see alternating droughts and floods, leading to rising migration pressures. In Marathwada, borrowing for agricultural work often results in cycles of debt-driven migration, akin to bonded labor.

The eastern coast shows stark impacts too. Entire villages in Odisha are disappearing beneath rising sea levels. In the Sundarbans, families often face multiple cyclones a year, leading to permanent relocation. Rahman explains that the absence of a clear policy for climate-displaced people leaves them in limbo when seeking help.

In places like Satabhaya village, the government was slow to respond, despite the community advocating for relocation when their land became unlivable due to rising seas. With no formal category for climate migrants in India, relocations often happen without adequate support or planning.

Experts like Ranjan Panda, a climate activist, argue the need for a cohesive plan for climate displacement. India is currently drafting its first National Adaptation Plan, which could be a crucial step in addressing these urgent needs. However, fragmentation across various government departments stalls vital action.

Recent advancements in attribution science are improving our understanding of climate impacts, but the term “climate refugee” remains legally unrecognized, hindering formal support. Despite some legislative efforts, like the 2022 Climate Migrants Bill, progress has been slow.

Researchers recommend a five-phase resilience model: anticipate risks, survive independently during disasters, recover with foresight, adapt to new realities, and ultimately thrive. Community involvement is essential in each stage, ensuring that disaster plans are accessible to everyone.

As India grapples with climate change, establishing formal systems to identify and support climate-displaced individuals is crucial. Currently, many remain unseen and unsupported, facing inevitable outcomes due to climate impacts on their homes and livelihoods.

In conclusion, as climate change intensifies, the need for a coherent, compassionate policy response to displaced communities becomes ever more urgent. Without it, millions risk losing their homes, identity, and connection to their land.



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