A new study finds that Karachi — Pakistan’s most populous city, home to more than 20 million people — could get an influx of 2.3 million climate migrants by 2050. According to a recent report, only Dhaka, Bangladesh, is expected to receive more migrants. If the world fails to meet the Paris Agreement target to keep the rise in global surface temperatures under 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, roughly 8 million climate refugees globally will be forced from their homes and into the 10 cities reported in the study. Karachi, the nation’s economic hub, is attractive to climate migrants seeking employment opportunities. The city sits near the Arabian Sea and has an average elevation ranging from 8-20 meters (26-66 feet), depending on the distance from the coast, making it a natural destination for lower-elevation climate-affected communities in the region. The report, which analyzes cities in Asia, Africa and South America, predicts a roughly 10% population increase in the next 25 years. Such an influx of migrants will challenge the city’s ability to provide drinking water, housing and basic infrastructure like roads and transportation. “Rapid urbanization has a collective impact on the city. It impacts not only the climate but law and order and scarcity of resources,” Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab told Mongabay in a phone call. “The government of Pakistan needs to allocate additional resources to the city.” In 2022, Pakistan suffered flooding that affected some 33 million people, killing more than 1,700 and displacing roughly 7 million.…This article was originally published on Mongabay
The post Karachi expected to receive 2.3 million climate migrants by 2050: Report first appeared on EnviroLink Network.