Human Migration and Climate Change 

Human migration is the permanent change of residence by an individual or group, and can be caused by a variety of environmental factors. Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, and is characterized by extreme weather events.

Migration brought on by means of gradual onset of extreme weather events including droughts, desertification, deforestation, water scarcity, rising sea levels, and coastal erosion in Africa has raised its incidence and severity due to the damage and insecurity that it induces. 

In Africa, human mobility is believed to be a key driver for the resilience of communities. As part of the 2063 African Union Agenda and the Global Compact for Migration objectives, migration can be considered a facilitator of progress and a method to improve sustainable livelihoods, and adapt to environmental pressures and climate change. 

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, West and Central Africa accounted for 265,400 internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to extreme weather events (such as floods, storms, or landslides), about 3 percent of total IDPs by the end of 2021.  

By 2022, the Republic of Congo had been the most affected country, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), followed by Chad, Liberia, Nigeria, and Niger. Eleven nations are flooding hotspots as considered by OCHA in 2022, including Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, and The Gambia. 

A fourth consecutive 12 months of drought in the East and Horn of Africa has caused loss of livestock and livelihoods, leaving millions of humans severely affected in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, and pushing tens of lots of households to leave their residences in search of food, water and pasture, many to urban areas. 

In the Face of Climate Change, Migration Offers an Adaptation Strategy in Africa

https://www.iom.int/news/face-climate-change-migration-offers-adaptation-strategy-africa