Photo Gallery Is Environmental Migration Really Rising?
Six years ago, the United Nations issued a dramatic warning that the world would have to cope with 50 million climate refugees by 2010. But now that those migration flows have failed to materialize, the UN has distanced itself from the forecasts. A map recently deleted from the website of UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme, shows regions of the world threatened by environmental migration.
A Somali refugee near the border with Kenya. Drought is driving people away from their homes. But is environmental migration really on the rise?
The low-lying Pacific island nation of Tuvalu was said to be at risk of being flooded as ocean levels rise. There were predictions that it would be the first country to disappear as a result of climate change. But it's still there. And despite rising water levels, some Pacific islands are increasing in size due to a build-up of corals washed ashore from reefs.
Low water levels in a reservoir in Guiyang City, China. Throughout history, weather changes have brought upheaval for humans.
Deforestation in the Amazon jungle. There is no doubt that man is destroying large swathes of nature. The world has made only modest concrete progress so far in the battle against global warming.
A dried-up mangrove swamp in Cancun, Mexico. Scientists have claimed for years that some 25 million people have already been displaced by adverse environmental conditions.
Pollution from chimney stacks at the ThyssenKrupp steelworks in Duisburg, Germany. CO2 emissions are causing global warming -- but the predicted surge in population migration resulting from climate change has yet to happen.
An iceberg off Greenland. Melting polar ice caps are thought to be causing a rise in ocean levels.
Waves wash over rocks that fringe Sydney Harbor. Australia is worried that rising sea levels may see people forced to abandon coastal homes. But so far, the impact of rising water levels on human populations around the world has been limited.
