As the planet warms, people are being forced to flee their homes and land due to natural disasters, droughts, and other extreme weather events. These people are “climate refugees” if forced to flee their country, or internally displaced people or IDPs if forced to move to another part of the same country. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, each year, natural disasters force an average of 21.5 million people from their homes around the world.
Did you know that in 2022, one of the worst cases of climate IDPs to ever occur took place? It happened in Pakistan, where 33 million people were displaced. It all started with extreme heat in the early summer, which then led to intense monsoon rains and then catastrophic flooding that left a third of the country underwater. The flooding not only impacted agricultural production, but also damaged infrastructure and the stagnant water and lack of sanitation facilities has increased public health risks, creating a crisis fragilizing existing peace processes.
Peace News visited some of the IDPs in Pakistan to better understand the situation.
