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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Clim.
Sec. Climate, Ecology and People
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fclim.2024.1529420

Climate Change and Migration Dynamics in Somalia: A Time Series Analysis of Environmental Displacement

Provisionally accepted
Abdikadir Ahmed Mohamed Abdikadir Ahmed Mohamed *Ibtisam Mohamed Omar Ibtisam Mohamed Omar
  • Jamhuriya University of Science and Technology, Mogadishu, Somalia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Climate change is a significant driver of human migration, especially in vulnerable regions like Somalia. This study investigates the relationship between climate variables-average annual precipitation, temperature, and CO₂ emissions-and net migration in Somalia, using time series data from 1990 to 2020. Additionally, it examines the role of population growth as a factor influencing migration. Applying the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, this research captures both short-and long-term dynamics, providing insights into how environmental and demographic factors impact migration in this climate-sensitive region. The results indicate that favorable rainfall conditions positively influence net migration, as improved agricultural productivity stabilizes livelihoods, reducing pressures to migrate. In contrast, increased CO₂ emissions, associated with environmental degradation, negatively impact migration by limiting financial capacity, creating a "trapped population" effect. Population growth also intensifies migration pressures by increasing competition for limited resources. Interestingly, temperature variations do not significantly influence migration, possibly due to adaptive strategies or resilience to temperature fluctuations in the region. These findings underscore the need for policies focused on enhancing agricultural resilience, restoring degraded environments, and creating economic opportunities to reduce migration pressures in Somalia. Investments in sustainable land use, climate adaptation, and population management strategies are essential to address the complex challenges of climate-induced migration.

    Keywords: Climate Change, Migration, rainfall, temperature, CO2 emissions, Population Growth, ARDL, Somalia

    Received: 16 Nov 2024; Accepted: 30 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Mohamed and Omar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Abdikadir Ahmed Mohamed, Jamhuriya University of Science and Technology, Mogadishu, Somalia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.