Climate Crisis Could Increase Civil Wars

The list of climate crisis problems is long. It includes drought, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, and temperatures well over 100 degrees F. Each of these can have devastating effects on humans. Weather-related deaths are already in the tens of thousands a year worldwide. Because most of these are in the third world, they are certainly undercounted.

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One of the most significant challenges as climate change makes the world more hostile occurs in areas where people are trapped geographically or by governments. The lack of relocation options means these people, particularly in poor nations, have nowhere to go.

The desperation of people with nowhere to go means that the unrest among these can and will likely cause civil war. The process has already begun and will get worse.

Causes For Conflict

According to The YEARS Project, climate change is known as a “conflict multiplier.” The authors of a new study by the Project write, “As competition for life-sustaining resources continues to rise, so does the potential for violent, deadly conflict. In Syria, climate change’s adverse environmental effects on top of existing instability sparked civil war, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths.”

While it is not easy to pick the regions of the world where this threat exists, it is certainly a concern in much of Africa and the region that includes India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Each has trapped populations in the millions and has no geographic or infrastructure options for relocation.

While climate change may not cause civil wars, it makes them more likely.

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