UPSC DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS-23 JULY 2025/Climate Change- Migration

Article “Climate change is deciding where and how rural Indians are living”

Published : The Hindu-23 July 2025

Very Important Topic for  mains: GS1, GS3, or Essay Paper in UPSC/PCS:

Why in News?
The issue of climate migration in India is gaining renewed attention due to increasing frequency and severity of climate-induced disasters—particularly droughts in Bundelkhand and Maharashtra and riverbank erosion in Bangladesh’s Charpauli region. The article by Sayantan Datta sheds light on how climate change is actively reshaping rural lives, livelihood patterns, and settlement geographies, compelling mass migration under precarious and exploitative conditions.

Main Issues Pointed Out :

Climate Change as a Driver of Migration

• Climate migration is increasingly a forced displacement rather than a voluntary adaptation strategy.
• Migration is being driven by:

• • Droughts (e.g., Bundelkhand, Vidarbha, Marathwada)
  • Floods and Riverbank Erosion (e.g., Charpauli village, Bangladesh)
  • Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall affecting agriculture and habitability.

Impact on Agrarian Livelihoods and Debt Trap:

• In Bundelkhand and Maharashtra:

• • Crop failures lead to debt accumulation and distress migration.
  • Migrants often shift to low-paying or exploitative jobs (e.g., cane cutting, construction).
  • Agricultural workers turn into informal laborers, undermining rural economies.

Exploitative Labour Practices:

• Migrants work under bonded-like conditions in sugarcane plantations as “koita” couples, often repaying advances over multiple seasons.
• Poor living conditions: tents without sanitation, electricity, or clean water.
• Wage insecurity and reliance on mukaddams (contractors) worsens precarity.

Changing Social Structures and Gender Impacts:

• Migration has disrupted the social fabric of rural communities.
• Men migrate, leaving women burdened with all household responsibilities, making them vulnerable to:

• Sexual exploitation
• School dropouts among children
• Health deterioration

 Internal Migration Patterns and Informal Urban Life:

• Migrants to cities like Delhi, Surat, and Dhaka live in slums with inadequate sanitation and healthcare.
• Lack of skills forces them into informal sector jobs: rickshaw pullers, security guards, construction laborers, etc.

Debate: Adaptation vs Crisis:

• Some researchers argue migration is a form of adaptation to climate stress (to diversify income).
• But field researchers and academics (e.g., Jatav) reject this in the Indian context:

“Migration is not adaptation. It is a crisis that reduces the social security and well-being of migrants.”

Regional Specificity in Climate Impact:

• Bundelkhand: Chronic droughts and debt-induced migration.
• Vidarbha/Marathwada: Rain shadow + climate change = failed crops, mass movement to sugarcane fields.
• Charpauli (Bangladesh): Flooding and erosion wipe out homes—villagers move to cities or other farmlands.

From this topic different types of questions can be asked by UPSC/UPPSC’

1. How does climate migration affect gender roles and the social fabric of rural communities?
2. Discuss how climate change is reshaping agrarian livelihoods in India?
3. Compare and contrast the nature of climate migration arising from drought-prone and flood-prone regions in South Asia.