Climate hazards are threatening vulnerable migrants in Indian megacities https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01105-7
Rising temperature adversely impacts the agriculture, thereby increasing the vulnerability7,8 of marginalized agriculture-dependent rural populations. Thus, climate change can be a catalyst for such migrants to relocate in search of better living conditions and alternate livelihoods9. Although migration is perceived as an important adaptation mechanism to counteract the negative outcomes of climate change2, climate extremes at the destination location, on the other hand, can have a detrimental effect on these migrants10, as population dynamics and climate change is considered a mutually interacting two-way avenue2. Therefore, an improved and systematic understanding of climate change-induced risks that the migrants face at the destinations, especially in megacities, is of utmost importance.
the emergence of two fundamentally different but equally devastating hazards — heatwaves and floods — can contribute to the vulnerability of migrants at their destination ( mainly Mumbai and Delhi) Delhi has witnessed record summer temperatures for several years in a row, accompanied by higher fatalities and hospitalization.
major hazard is flooding in coastal cities such as Mumbai caused by tropical cyclones and sea-level rise. A substantial rise in the pre-monsoon sea-surface temperature trends across the Northern Indian Ocean, specifically in the Arabian Sea, creates a conducive environment for the genesis and propagation of tropical cyclones. the coastal cities — specifically Mumbai, where the influx of marginal migrants is very high — face immense challenges in managing the increasing hydroclimatic hazards, the consequences of which are experienced by the large vulnerable population and are often met with huge monetary losses