climate refugees
Environmental exile seekers
Climate refugees are people forced to leave their homes due to environmental changes—rising sea levels, prolonged drought, desertification, or extreme weather events linked to climate change.
The term borrows from political refugee but lacks formal legal recognition under international law.
Island nations face the prospect of entire populations becoming climate refugees.
Some prefer "climate migrants" or "climate-displaced persons."
Increasing ocean surface height
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- floodingOverwhelming water accumulation
- desertificationLand becoming barren, infertile
- heatwavesExtended periods of excessive warmth
hurricanes · typhoons · monsoons · crop failure · water scarcity · coastal erosion · Tuvalu · Kiribati
Mass departure from somewhere
- migrationMovement to new territory
- relocationPermanent change of residence
- asylumShelter from persecution
- cross-borderSpanning national boundaries
flee · mass migration · uprooted · evacuees · exiles · resettlement · statelessness · border crossing
Perceiving something as known
- international lawRules governing relations between countries
- legal frameworkStructure of governing laws
- statelessnessHaving no recognized citizenship
- asylum claimsRequests for sanctuary status
Support given freely
- reliefEasing of distress
- shelterProtected place or structure
- asylum seekersPeople requesting safe haven
- human rightsInalienable personal freedoms
crisis · emergency · famine · disaster · survivors · intervention · solidarity · UNHCR
State of being unprotected
- povertySevere lack of resources
- insecurityUncertainty about oneself
- precariousnessState of uncertain stability
- riskPossibility of harm
susceptibility · defenselessness · instability · hardship · marginalized communities · indigenous peoples · coastal communities · food insecurity
Monitors that signal approaching threats
- infrastructureBasic physical systems
- sustainable developmentMeeting needs without exhausting resources
- coastal defenseSafeguarding land from sea-based threats
- mitigationReduction of severity
sea level rise
Increasing ocean surface height
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- floodingOverwhelming water accumulation
- desertificationLand becoming barren, infertile
heatwaves · hurricanes · typhoons · monsoons · crop failure · water scarcity · coastal erosion · Tuvalu · Kiribati · Maldives
exodus
Mass departure from somewhere
- migrationMovement to new territory
- relocationPermanent change of residence
- asylumShelter from persecution
cross-border · flee · mass migration · uprooted · evacuees · exiles · resettlement · statelessness · border crossing · camps
recognition
Perceiving something as known
- international lawRules governing relations between countries
- legal frameworkStructure of governing laws
- statelessnessHaving no recognized citizenship
asylum claims · legal limbo · documentation · rights · citizenship
aid
Support given freely
- reliefEasing of distress
- shelterProtected place or structure
- asylum seekersPeople requesting safe haven
human rights · crisis · emergency · famine · disaster · survivors · intervention · solidarity · UNHCR · food insecurity
exposure
State of being unprotected
- povertySevere lack of resources
- insecurityUncertainty about oneself
- precariousnessState of uncertain stability
risk · susceptibility · defenselessness · instability · hardship · marginalized communities · indigenous peoples · coastal communities · food insecurity · landlessness
early warning systems
Monitors that signal approaching threats
- infrastructureBasic physical systems
- sustainable developmentMeeting needs without exhausting resources
- coastal defenseSafeguarding land from sea-based threats
- Climate Changeglobal warming, greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, CO2, carbon emissions
- humanitarian aidaid, aid organizations, aid workers, disaster relief, aid agencies
- migrationmigration, immigrants, immigration, emigration, migrants
- Cli-Ficli-fi, eco-fiction, ecofiction, eco-thriller, speculative fiction
- Climate Politicsglobal warming, carbon tax, Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol, emissions
- diasporaAfrican diaspora, exiles, Irish diaspora, emigrants, Jewish diaspora
climate refugeesexpats
Citizens living abroad, informally
economic migrants · digital nomads · snowbirds · seasonal workers · study abroad students
climate, refugee, refugees, climatic, anticlimactic, microclimate, climatology, climatologist, climacteric