CLIMATE-INDUCED DISPLACEMENT AND MIGRATION IN PAKISTAN

Insights from Muzaffargarh and Tharparkar districts

In Sindh, climate change has led to an increase in the number of hot days and nights between 1980 and 2015. A study conducted in rural Mithi, Tharparkar, found that migration is most common among landless sharecroppers due to climate-induced droughts. Even landlords living in rural areas migrate to nearby towns and urban areas like Karachi and Hyderabad during severe droughts, but they often return periodically to maintain control over the area's social and economic activities and to sustain their political influence. Additionally, rural Tharparkar has absentee landlords who have permanently moved to urban areas, leaving their land and property to be managed by relatives and servants. These farms are primarily cultivated by landless sharecroppers.

Date: December 2020

Source: cansouthasia.net