Extreme Weather, Drought Linked to Increased Migration From Mexico to the U.S. [Video]

Extreme weather is causing an increase in undocumented migration between the United States and Mexico, suggesting more migrants could put their lives at risk crossing the border as the climate crisis causes droughts, severe storms and other adversities, a new study has found.

The researchers discovered that people from Mexico’s agricultural regions were more likely to travel across the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in the wake of droughts. And when extreme weather conditions continued, they were not as likely to return to their original communities.

“As the world’s climate continues to change, human populations are exposed to increasingly severe and extreme weather conditions that can promote migration,” the study’s authors wrote. “The findings… suggest that extreme weather conditions, which are likely to increase with climate change, promote clandestine mobility across borders and, thus, expose migrants to risks associated with crossing dangerous terrain.”

All over the world, human-caused climate change from the burning of fossil fuels like natural gas…