Climatic Disaster-Driven Economic Losses and Migration Dynamics: Evidence from Indian Households

Abstract

A climatic hazard is any natural or human-caused situation, process, or event in the environment that has the potential to endanger human life, health, property, livelihoods, or ecosystems. These hazards arise from interactions between natural systems and human activities and can cause disasters when communities are exposed and vulnerable. There have been several previous studies whose findings reveal that, due to the environmental hazard and climatic disaster, people are eager to practice temporary and permanent migration, rural-to-urban migration, and movement from hazard-affected areas to non-hazard areas. According to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, globally 2,03,89,962 people are affected by environmental hazards. For instance, from 2000 to 2023, more than 110 million people in India were severely affected over the last two decades. The study data were based on the India Human Development Survey-II (IHDS-II), conducted in 2011–12. This study examines climate disaster-induced economic loss and migration using binary logistic regression. The results indicate significant financial losses and out-migration in states such as Madhya Pradesh (21.85%), Bihar (14.42%), Uttar Pradesh (10.50%), and Rajasthan (8.27%). Marginalized groups, including scheduled castes (24%) and tribes (18%), experienced the greatest migration burden. Households that experienced economic loss were more likely to migrate, influenced by factors such as income source (41.25%) and household size (47.30%). The findings underscore disaster-related economic loss as a primary driver of involuntary migration in India. Focusing on our study findings, the government should strengthen the integration of disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and the social protection framework. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.