The ongoing climate crisis has brought devastation to people who live in certain areas of the world that have been faced with scorching temperatures, creating heartbreaking choices to abandon their homes due to uninhabitable conditions.
What's happening?
Fine art photographer Nick Brandt brought his newest series, "The Echo of Our Voices," to CNN to shine a light on the mass displacement of Syrian refugee families to southern Jordan due to extreme drought conditions that have only gotten worse due to our changing climate.
The Jordan Red Crescent Society determined that changes in the climate have impacted the frequency and intensity of drought conditions in the country, which UNICEF reported as the second-most water-scarce country in the world.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 621,000 Syrian refugees now reside in Jordan, as most of them left Syria due to the civil war between 2013 and 2015. The European Commission's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Department reported that 66% of all Syrian refugees live below the poverty line.
To make matters even more saddening, this area of the world is among the least responsible for human-induced changes to our climate. Brandt said he's committed to drawing attention to the catastrophic conditions these families are facing.
"What motivates me the most is injustice," Brandt told CNN. "I'm deliberately going to countries that are amongst the least responsible for carbon emissions, and so the rural people living there are amongst the people who are the least responsible yet the most vulnerable."
Why is this important?
Human-induced changes to the climate is the most significant factor in the increased frequency of extreme weather events like drought and flooding. Rising global temperatures provide "steroids for weather," explained journalist and climate tech investor Molly Wood.
As the planet continues to heat up, mass displacements due to climate-related disasters are expected to become more common. The Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace projected in a 2020 report that "more than 1 billion people living in countries that are unlikely to be able to adapt to the extreme weather events are at risk of being forced from their homes by 2050," per CNN.
Jordan and Syria aren't alone in dealing with mass displacements due to the climate crisis. Per CNN, residents in India have experienced heat waves that are so intense that they need to move away during the summer months. The Middle East has always fought extreme heat, but temperatures have reached the point where drought is becoming more frequent, and human survivability is in question. Rising sea levels pose significant threats to island nations in the Pacific.
🗣️ Do you think America is in a housing crisis?
🔘 Definitely 🙁
🔘 Not sure 🤷🏽♂️
🔘 No way 🏘️
🔘 Only in some cities 🏙️
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
What's being done about this?
Simple actions like reducing pollution and adopting sustainable practices can help slow the heating of our planet. Using renewable energy and advocating for climate-friendly policies can help address these global challenges.
However, Brandt warned that until significant progress is made in the fight against the changing climate, mass displacements will remain an issue for many families around the world.
"This will increasingly be the case all over the world as the impacts of climate change in the coming decades unfold and there are fewer and fewer places for people to call home," Brandt told CNN. "It's an important reminder that every sentient being is either being subjected or is ultimately going to be subjected to the negative impacts of climate change."
Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
