<
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/aug/18/century-climate-crisis-migration-why-we-need-plan-great-upheaval>
"A great upheaval is coming. Climate-driven movement of people is adding to a
massive migration already under way to the world’s cities. The number of
migrants has doubled globally over the past decade, and the issue of what to do
about rapidly increasing populations of displaced people will only become
greater and more urgent. To survive climate breakdown will require a planned
and deliberate migration of a kind humanity has never before undertaken.
The world already sees twice as many days where temperatures exceed 50C than 30
years ago – this level of heat is deadly for humans, and also hugely
problematic for buildings, roads and power stations. It makes an area
unliveable. This explosive planetary drama demands a dynamic human response. We
need to help people to move from danger and poverty to safety and comfort – to
build a more resilient global society for everyone’s benefit.
Large populations will need to migrate, and not simply to the nearest city, but
also across continents. Those living in regions with more tolerable conditions,
especially nations in northern latitudes, will need to accommodate millions of
migrants while themselves adapting to the demands of the climate crisis. We
will need to create entirely new cities near the planet’s cooler poles, in land
that is rapidly becoming ice-free. Parts of Siberia, for example, are already
experiencing temperatures of 30C for months at a time.
Arctic areas are burning, with mega-blazes devouring Siberia, Greenland and
Alaska. Even in January, peat fires were burning in the Siberian cryosphere,
despite temperatures below –50C. These zombie fires smoulder year round in the
peat below ground, in and around the Arctic Circle, only to burst into huge
blazes that rage across the boreal forests of Siberia, Alaska and Canada.
In 2019, colossal fires destroyed more than 4m hectares of Siberian taiga
forest, blazing for more than three months, and producing a cloud of soot and
ash as large as the countries that make up the entire European Union. Models
predict that fires in the boreal forests and Arctic tundra will increase by up
to four times by 2100.
Wherever you live now, migration will affect you and the lives of your
children. It is predictable that Bangladesh, a country where one-third of the
population lives along a sinking, low-lying coast, is becoming uninhabitable.
(More than 13 million Bangladeshis – nearly 10% of the population – are
expected to have left the country by 2050.) But in the coming decades wealthy
nations will be severely affected, too."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
