Climate change expected to impact Mexico immigration into U.S.

A study released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences discusses how climate change is expected to cause mass migration including immigration across international borders. “Linkages among climate change, crop yields and Mexico-U.S. cross-border migration”, examines the link between variations in climate, agricultural yields and people’s migration responses.

Researchers expect crop yield-induced migration will be a significant issue in many parts of the world that are expected to experience a substantial reduction in yields as a result of climate change. Countries expected to be affected include Latin America, Australia, Africa and India.

The study looked specifically at the impact climate could have on emigration from Mexico. Depending on the warming scenarios that occur, by approximately the year 2080, climate change is estimated to induce 1.4 to 6.7 million adult Mexicans (2-10%) of the current population aged 15-65 years old to emigrate as a result of declines in agricultural productivity alone. 

 

Pictured: Climate change is expected to impact agricultural yields which could have a major impact on the emigration from Mexico into the U.S.

Photo by Scott Bauer