Rising sea levels—inland homes become beachfront homes become. . . Dude, where’s my neighborhood?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Mathematical models predict over ONE-HUNDRED FORTY MILLION climate migrants by 2050. BUT they don’t consider SOCIAL migration factors like age or growing families.
Enter Mathew Hauer and team from Florida State University. Their computer models applied FORTY YEARS of US demographic data, flood hazards, and migration patterns for a closer look.
And? Projected estimates show YOUNG and ABLE migrants leaving aging coastal populations. Young folks may also start families in these new locations, likely INCREASING climate migrant populations FIVE TO EIGHTEEN TIMES the original predictions!
And that doesn’t include all those new Chuck E. Cheese just-for-the-parents wine grottos! Wait, it does? Amazing!
Reference: Hauer M., Jacobs S.A., Kulp S.A., Climate migration amplifies demographic change and population aging. PNAS 121, e2206192119 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2206192119