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Climate Change and Rural India

Key Observation:

Climate change is no longer a future threat — it is actively transforming where and how millions of Indians live, work, and survive.

Relevance : GS-1 & GS-3 – Geography (climate impact) and Economy (migration, livelihoods).

Bundelkhand: Droughts, Heat, and Exodus

Parameter Status
Location 13 districts in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh
Climate Impact 🔻 Rainfall, 🔺 Temperature (+2 to +3.5°C by 2100)
Drought Frequency 9 droughts (Datia, 1998–2009); 8 in Lalitpur, Mahoba
Result Massive male-dominated migration to cities like Delhi, Surat, Bengaluru

Impacts:

  • Agricultural failure and indebtedness
  • Occupational shift: from farming to mining & construction
  • Family separation and rising vulnerability of women and children
  • Erosion of village social fabric and school dropout rates

Migration in Bundelkhand is not adaptation — it is a form of crisis-induced displacement.” – Dr. S.S. Jatav, BBAU

Charpauli, Bangladesh: Floods and Erosion

Parameter Status
Location Along the Jamuna river
Climate Impact 🔺 Floods & erosion due to rising river discharge
Riverbank Erosion Left bank: -12m/year; Right bank: -52m/year (1990–2020)
Migration Pattern Permanent displacement to Dhaka, nearby towns

Impacts:

  • Entire villages vanish annually into the Jamuna
  • Families move first inland, then migrate completely
  • Shift to agriculture in new villages or informal jobs in cities

Migration becomes the last-resort adaptation when resilience fails.” – Jan Freihardt, ETH Zürich

Vidarbha & Marathwada: Heat Stress and Debt Cycles

Parameter Status
Region Rain shadow zone of the Western Ghats
Temperature >50°C in peak May months (Satellite data, 2024)
Rainfall Erratic: fewer rainy days, intense bursts, long dry gaps
Livelihood Impact Seasonal migration to sugar cane farms in Western Maharashtra & Karnataka

Cane Cutter Migrant Life:

  • 4–6 month migration, hired as “koita” couples (husband: cutter, wife: stacker)
  • Advance wage: ₹50,000–₹5 lakh (debt cycle begins)
  • Output requirement: ₹50,000 ÷ ₹367/tonne = 136 tonnes sugar cane to cut
  • Live in makeshift plastic tents, with no water, sanitation, or electricity
  • Seniors (70+) now migrate due to labour shortages

“Climate change is pushing people into debt bondage and worsening intergenerational precarity.” – Ankita Bhatkhande, Asar

Scale of the Crisis

Indicator Data
Global Climate Migrants (2022) ~20 million/year (Internal migration) – International Refugee Assistance Project
India’s Sugarcane Production (2021) 50 crore tonnes, ₹20,000+ crore revenue
Protection for Migrants Weak; migrants face wage theft, health crises, and legal invisibility

India lacks a dedicated legal framework for climate-induced internal migration.

Adaptation or Displacement?

  • Adaptation (Ideal Scenario):
  • Diversified livelihoods
  • Climate-resilient cropping
  • Social security safety nets
  • Displacement (Current Reality):
  • Loss of land + livelihoods = forced migration
  • Women and elderly disproportionately burdened
  • Children drop out of school or face malnutrition

“Migration may appear adaptive, but for many in India, it reflects a collapse of resilience.” — Sayantan Datta

Policy Recommendations

Area Action Needed
Legal Framework Recognize climate migrants as a vulnerable group under national policy
Housing & Rights Ensure safe shelters, portable social security, and labour protections
Livelihood Resilience Invest in climate-smart agriculture, water access, and MGNREGA coverage
Data & Planning Real-time climate–migration data to inform policy at district/state levels
Interstate Coordination Protect rights of migrants across source and destination states

Bottom Line

  • India is living through a rural climate migration crisis — slow, silent, and scattered.
  • Without urgent legal and policy recognition, millions risk falling into permanent precarity.

October 2025
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