V. Mueller, C. Gray, K. Kosec

Nature Climate Change

Published date January 26, 2014

Heat stress increases long-term human migration in rural Pakistan

  • Investigates the relationship between weather and long-term migration using a 21-year longitudinal survey conducted in rural Pakistan (1991–2012)
  • Links individual-level information from this survey to satellite-derived measures of climate variability and control for potential confounders using a multivariate approach
  • Finds that flooding—a climate shock associated with large relief efforts—has modest to insignificant impacts on migration
  • Finds that heat stress, however consistently increases the long-term migration of men, driven by a negative effect on farm and non-farm income