• Sudden-onset disasters: include extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, which often lead to temporary internal migration as people have no immediate “back-up” place to live. They hope to return to their homes – or rebuild – once the area is safe again.
  
• Slow-onset disasters: are the more insidious changes to the environment occurring over time, making home and land less habitable, such as desertification, water stress, rising sea levels, and increasing temperature. Such changes render the local population more vulnerable, as livelihoods become increasingly unsustainable due to scarcity of resources like arable land and food. Without concrete actions, it is estimated that around 216 million people will be displaced internally by slow-onset climate change by 2050, with sub-Saharan Africa being the most vulnerable region.

On top of the direct physical and mental health impacts driven by the exposure to climate-driven disasters themselves (anxiety, depression, and trauma, to name a few), the process of migration introduces additional stressors. Disruption in social ties has been shown to be the major reason for mental health decline among climate migrants. Forced to leave their homes and livelihoods, many lose their existing social connections to friends, family, community, routine, and culture. For many, being part of a community is vital for shielding people from physical and social harm. Migration can also bring ecological grief, which is the experience of grief linked to the loss of landscape, species, and environmental knowledge, which is tied to cultural and personal identities.

Migrants also have limited access to physical health services, as most resort to informal settlements and relief camps that are often overcrowded and lack adequate healthcare services. These conditions often expose these migrants to an unsafe environment with a higher likelihood of infectious diseases, malnutrition, and violence, further exacerbating the mental health challenges. Women and children, in particular, face greater vulnerability to abuse and sexual harassment. Migrants can also experience discrimination by host communities. Legal insecurity increases anxiety and trauma among climate migrants. For marginalized and poor communities that lack the resources and capacity to migrate, feeling trapped in locations of high climate risk can cause hopelessness and despair. 

On the other hand, it is important to recognize that climate migration can also have positive mental health impacts on the affected populations. Relocating may offer opportunities and a safer environment that is less vulnerable to natural disasters.

Climate migration also amplifies existing disparities within the affected population, as children, women, the elderly, people with disabilities, marginalized populations, and ethnic minorities are more vulnerable. For example, climate migration and disasters can expose children to early childhood stress, which can manifest as PTSD, depression, chronic health problems, and substance abuse in adulthood. Moreover, some people are trapped and forced to continue living in climate-impacted places, often known as an involuntary immobile population, due to factors such as climate stressors, poverty, legal barriers, and conflict. The cases below highlight a few of the unequal impacts of climate migration.

Pakistan Flooding (2022): In the 2022 monsoon season, Pakistan experienced catastrophic flooding, with more than 8 million displaced and 1,700 killed. The affected population found refuge in overcrowded camps – where many are still living – with inadequate shelter and contaminated water, leading to outbreaks of cholera, dengue, and malaria, especially affecting children and the elderly. 

In these spaces, women and girls are at heightened risk of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation. They also have to travel long distances to obtain water, which puts them at further risk. Without proper healthcare facilities, there is a lack of access to reproductive health services. Girls who have their first period in such conditions face added trauma and anxiety as they do not have the necessary resources, such as menstrual hygiene products.

Hurricane Katrina (2005): Hurricane Katrina triggered massive, abrupt relocation with deep racial and socioeconomic disparities. Many of the affected populations lived in racially segregated neighborhoods shaped by a history of redlining (a discriminatory housing policy). A significant portion of the Black community resided in low-cost housing below sea level, where levees (floodbanks) were poorly maintained. Many poorer residents who didn’t own a car or lacked transportation could not evacuate. As a result, low-income and Black communities experienced disproportionately higher casualties and property damage.

Displacement patterns following Katrina varied significantly by race and class:

• Suburban residents, mostly the middle-class white population, were able to find housing in nearby neighbourhoods similar to their own. Approximately 90% of the middle-class population relocated within the region.

• Black residents, residents of flooded areas, young adults, noncitizens, those born outside of Louisiana, and renters were more likely to move away permanently.

• Urban residents, mostly low-income people of color, relocated to faraway cities (i.e., Houston and Dallas) where they had family. The distance and lack of financial resources made it more difficult for these residents to return, resulting in a 30% decline in the Black community. Many lived temporarily in FEMA-provided trailers for years with poor living conditions.  

1. Establishing a migrant support network. Social ties play an important role in the well-being of migrants, providing psychological support and a sense of community belonging. Migrant support centers can help by connecting new migrants with others from their region, facilitating social networks, and assisting them in adapting to a new environment. In addition, establishing a migration helpline can provide immediate counselling and logistics support to new migrants. In Jharkhand, India, the State Migrant Control Room, which is a collaborative effort between the government and civil society, supports low-income workers, many of whom are farmers displaced by climate change-induced crop losses and forced to seek employment in urban areas away from their families. The helpline helps protect migrants from exploitation by ensuring they receive minimum wages and timely payments, providing access to legal support, and facilitating communication with families back home. 

2. Training professionals and community leaders in addressing the mental health of climate migrants. Training and resources should be provided to general clinicians to assess and treat migrants suffering from mental health challenges in a culturally and linguistically sensitive manner. Community leaders, social workers, faith leaders, migration officers, and others, should also be trained for the first line of support and recognition of more significant mental health difficulties, and provide appropriate resources and support.

3. Supporting livelihood diversification and local climate adaptation. Strengthening local livelihoods through climate-smart agriculture, water management, and income diversification helps reduce forced migration by addressing its root causes. This economic security lowers stress and anxiety linked to environmental instability and helps improve migrants’ mental health by fostering community resilience and a sense of control.

1. Migration as a solution, not a last resort. Policy makers should emphasize policies that enable planned and orderly migration, using migration as a solution to adapt to climate change, especially for slow-onset disasters. Potentially displaced people and migrants must be at the forefront of decision-making processes, actively identifying the core needs of their communities. Policies must foster a supportive environment that facilitates dignified migration experiences and prioritizes efforts to protect and maintain cultural heritage and connections. In addition, planned migration can also prepare the host community for the influx of migrants and ensure that the public infrastructure is not overwhelmed. A major international initiative includes the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union, signed in 2024, allowing 280 Tuvalu citizens to permanently migrate to Australia annually. Tuvalu is a small island country in the Pacific Ocean, with most of the land less than 3 meters above sea level, making its population highly vulnerable to rising sea levels and climate change. As Tuvalu faces a great threat from rising sea levels, Australia is also investing AUD38 million towards building climate resilience and in situ adaptation in Tuvalu. 

2. Strengthening nations vulnerable to climate change. Developed nations must contribute towards building climate resilience for vulnerable nations. A significant recent advancement in this aspect includes the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage in COP28, designated to provide financial support to vulnerable countries hardest hit by climate impact. 

3. Strengthening legal protections and coordinated policies. Enhancing frameworks that recognize environmental displacement and international cooperation, such as regional agreements like the Kampala Convention (African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons), provides migrants protection, dignity, and access to services, thereby supporting their mental well-being.

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African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), published by the African Union on October 23, 2009

Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union, published by the Australian Government in September 2024 

Children displaced in a changing climate: Preparing for a future already underway published by UNICEF in October 2023 

Climate Migration: A Multidimensional Challenge Requiring Global Action, published in Earth.Org on January 27, 2025, by Mitota P. Omolere

Climate-induced migration and health issues: a toolkit for policymakers, published by the International Institute for Environment and Development in December 2022 by Ritu Bharadwaj and Saleemul Huq

Environment and Climate Change in the Global Compact for Migration, published by the IOM Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) Division

Environmental Migration, published in the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Environmental Migration Portal 

Evacuees of Hurricane Katrina Resettle Along a Racial Divide, published in the Los Angeles Times on December 12, 2005, by Tomas Alex Tizon and Doug Smith 

Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), published by the World Bank Group 

Groundswell Part 2: Acting on Internal Climate Migration, published by the World Bnak Group on September 13, 2021, by Viviane Clement, Kanta Kumari Rigaud, Alex de Sherbinin, Bryan Jones, Susana Adamo, Jacob Schewe, Nian Sadiq, Elham Shabahat

How Climate Change Affects Our Mental Health, and What We Can Do About It, published by The Commonwealth Fund on March 29, 2023, by Emily Hough, Nathaniel Counts

How Disasters Have Gendered Impacts on the Climate Migration and What Youth Can Do About It: The Case of Pakistan, published by the IOM Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) Division on June 5, 2024, by Rebecca Bassey and Sitara Nath

How Racism Magnified the Effects of Hurricane Katrina, published in LabXchange on April 30, 2024

In-depth Q&A: How does climate change drive human migration?, published in Carbon Brief on April 10, 2024, by Ayesha Tandon 

‘New Orleans West’: Houston is home for many evacuees 10 years after Katrina, published in The Guardian on August 25, 2015, by Tom Dart 

Pakistan Floods 2022: From rapid response to sustainable development, published by WaterAid

Pakistan floods of 2022, published in Encyclopedia Britannica on October 4, 2024, by Metych, Metyc, and John P. Rafferty

Refugee Trauma and Mental Health, published by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies 

Refugees and Migrants: Definitions, published by the United Nations

The 1951 Refugee Convention, published by the UNHCR 

The concept of ‘climate refugee’: Towards a possible definition, published by the European Parliament on October 5, 2023, by Joanna Apap 

The Global Compact on Refugees, published by the Global Compact on Refugees 

The Nansen Initiative, published by the IOM Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) Division

WMO confirms 2024 as warmest year on record at about 1.55°C above pre-industrial level, published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on January 10, 2025 

2025 Global Report on Internal Displacement, published by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) in 2025

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February 19, 2026

Author: Shirish Gurung

Editor: Colleen Rollins, PhD