List of areas depopulated due to climate change

This article lists several areas, regions, and municipalities that have either been completely or markedly depopulated, or are involved in plans for depopulation or relocation due to anthropogenic climate change. Several factors created or worsened by climate change can be responsible for necessitating managed retreat or the relocation of people and/or infrastructure. These include rising sea levels, increased flooding risk, changes to the makeup of the land (e.g. a habitable area becoming a wetland), coastal erosion, increased susceptibility to dangerous cyclones, droughts, water shortages, wildfires, and other factors, all of which can overlap with each other to enhance the risk of danger or inhabitability of a formerly populated region.

The lists contain a general number of the number of people moved or at risk of being moved due to climate change-related causes, as well as rough dates for when programs to relocate were first created or for when a climate disaster first caused significant forcible displacement of a population.

Lists

Completely depopulated AreaLocationNumber impactedReasons for/details of depopulationDate(s) startedReferencesBiloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw community of Isle de Jean Charles, LouisianaLouisiana, United States~100Saltwater intrusion and sea level rise, "the first migration of a total community in the state of Louisiana"2016Guillot, Craig. "The Resettlement of Isle De Jean Charles." Planning 82.8 (2016): 21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 February 2017.Cartí SugtupuSan Blas Archipelago in the Guna Yala province of Panama927In the process of complete relocation due to rising sea levels. The first island in Panama to be displaced due to climate change.2015A neighborhood of Željezno PoljeŽepče, Bosnia and Herzegovina2,000+Catastrophic flooding during the 2014 Balkan floods caused complete destruction and depopulation of a section of Željezno Polje, resulting in a "ghost neighborhood".2014VunidogoloaVanua Levu, Fiji140Original location became the first town in Fiji to be depopulated and relocated due to persistent flooding, saltwater intrusion, and coastal erosion, becoming a ghost town.2004TukurakiViti Levu, FijiSusceptibility to landslides and flooding from cyclones.2017NabavatuVanua Levu, FijiNearly 400Devastated by Cyclone Ana, depopulated due to its proximity to the coast and susceptibility to flooding and storm surge.2021Sea Breeze, New JerseyCumberland County, New Jersey, United States19Increased flooding risk resulting in property owners collectively agreeing to sell their properties to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.2008

Significantly impacted AreaLocationNumber impactedReasons for/details of depopulationDate(s) startedReferencesLake Chad BasinChad, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon30,000,000Droughts, floods, and the lake's contraction due to climate change, secondarily intensifying regional conflicts. Adamo, S.; de Sherbinin, A. ( 2011) The impact of climate change on the spatial distribution of populations and migration In: Population Distribution, Urbanization, Internal Migration and Development: An International Perspective (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, United Nations, New York)Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index. 2023.Country Index Technical Report. https://gain.nd.edu/our-work/country-index/. Assessed October 18, 2023.Sudd regionSouth Sudan1,000,000Significant flooding increases and lack of drainage leading to permanent conversion of settlements and agricultural land into wetlands.2017SundarbansKhulna Division, Bangladesh and West Bengal, IndiaUp to 70,000Rising sea levels2020Satabhaya, OdishaKendrapara district of Odisha, India650 familiesRising sea levels and coastal erosion, requiring state relocation to Bagapatia.2016Minqin CountyGansu Province, China10,000Water shortages2007XihaiguNingxia, ChinaHundreds of thousandsWater shortages1983Paradise, CaliforniaSierra Nevada region of the United States20,000+Camp Fire, exacerbated by drought2018KivalinaNorthwest Arctic, Alaska, United States444Sea level rise, flooding, sea wave erosion, and bank erosion impacting local water quality, resulting in a planned relocation 12 km (7.5 mi) from the present site.2007Brubaker, M., Berner, J., Bell, J. N., & Warren, J. (2011). Climate Change in Kivalina Alaska.pdf (p. 70) [Funded by United States Indian Health Service Cooperative Agreement No. AN 08-X59]. ANTHC. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/php/26952/Climate%20Change%20HIA%20Report_Kivalina.pdfNewtokBethel, Alaska, United States209Erosion due to melting permafrost and increasing flooding risk, requiring movement to Mertarvik.2019ShaktoolikNome, Alaska, United States212Increasing flooding risk and erosion2009ShishmarefNome, Alaska, United States576Increasing flooding risk from rising sea levels, erosion, and permafrost melting.1987Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change, 2006, Quinault Indian Nation villages of Taholah and QueetsWashington's Olympic Peninsula, United States660Susceptibility to flooding and landslides due to rising sea levels, resulting in planned relocation to higher ground.2014Domaljevac-ŠamacPosavina, Bosnia and Herzegovina1,000+Repeated flooding; considered the first permanent climate migration in Europe along with other areas impacted by the 2014 Balkan floods2014KopanicePosavina, Bosnia and Herzegovina280Repeated flooding, 15-20% of population permanently left after the 2014 Balkan floods2014OrašjePosavina, Bosnia and Herzegovina19,861Repeated flooding, about 50% of the working age population left the city after the 2014 Balkan floods2014Cotul MoriiHîncești District, Moldova440 familiesOrdered by the government to be relocated 15 km away from its original location due to significant flooding. Officially abandoned by state decree, although 60 families returned despite there being no running electricity or water.2010FairbourneWales, United Kingdom400 homesRising sea levels and erosion, planned managed retreat to completely abandoned by 2055.2010Saint-LouisSenegal254,171Sea level rise and susceptibility to flooding and storm surge, where up to 80% of its area could be flooded by 2080.La Push, WashingtonUnited States371Rising sea levels leading to greater susceptibility to flooding and tsunamis, resulting in the community moving the buildings in the village to higher ground.2017Money Island, New JerseyCumberland County, New Jersey20+Sea level rise and Hurricane Sandy, resulting in state buyback of properties to convert into wildlife sanctuaries. 2012Oakwood BeachOakwood, New YorkSusceptibility to sea level rise and flooding due to low elevation, resulting in state property buyback programs following significant damage during Hurricane Sandy. 2012NuatambuSolomon Islands34 familiesSevere erosion and rising sea levels submerging half of its settlements.2011TuvaluOceania11,000Sea level rise, resulting in resettlement plans and agreements with Australia to enable climate-related mobility for its citizens2023West AucklandAuckland, New Zealand319,566Rising sea levels leading to extensive flooding, resulting in relocation and government property buybacks.2023WestportWest Coast, New Zealand4,250Rising sea levels leading to extensive flooding, resulting in relocation and government property buybacks.2023South DunedinDunedin, New Zealand2,500Rising sea levels leading to extensive flooding, resulting in relocation and government property buybacks.2023Southshore Christchurch, New Zealand1,041Rising sea levels leading to extensive flooding, resulting in relocation and government property buybacks.2023PetoneLower Hutt, New Zealand8,330Rising sea levels leading to extensive flooding, resulting in relocation and government property buybacks.2023WhakatāneBay of Plenty Region, New Zealand16,850Rising sea levels leading to extensive flooding, resulting in relocation and government property buybacks for certain regions of the town.2023WhanganuiManawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand48,900Rising sea levels leading to extensive flooding, resulting in relocation and government property buybacks for certain regions of the city.2023WhangāreiNorthland, New Zealand56,900Rising sea levels leading to extensive flooding, resulting in relocation and government property buybacks for certain regions of the city.2023Esk ValleyHawke Bay, New Zealand236 householdsRising sea levels leading to extensive flooding, resulting in relocation and government property buybacks following Cyclone Gabrielle.2023Ebro DeltaProvince of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain50,000Rising sea levels triggering managed retreat plans for areas closest to the sea.2009MMA 2005, Sitges, Meeting on Coastal Engineering; EUROSION projectHoldernessEast Riding of Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom11,993Highest rate of coastal erosion in Europe due to its soft soil and rising sea levels.HunstantonNorfolk, England, United Kingdom4,229Severe coastal erosion due to rising sea levels, requiring managed retreat.1996Retrieved 11 November 2011.Wells-next-the-SeaNorfolk, England, United Kingdom2,165Severe coastal erosion due to rising sea levels, requiring managed retreat.1996BlakeneyNorfolk, England, United Kingdom801Severe coastal erosion due to rising sea levels, requiring managed retreat.1996Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Retrieved 2 December 2005.SheringhamNorfolk, England, United Kingdom7,367Severe coastal erosion due to rising sea levels, requiring managed retreat.1996Ordnance Survey (2002). OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East. .CromerNorfolk, England, United Kingdom7,683Severe coastal erosion due to rising sea levels, requiring managed retreat.1996MundesleyNorfolk, England, United Kingdom2,758Severe coastal erosion due to rising sea levels, requiring managed retreat.1996

Gallery

See also Climate migration Environmental migrant Extreme event attribution Space and survival Great Filter Managed retreat List of landmarks destroyed or damaged by climate change

References