Climate Change and Emergence of Violent Conflicts

Abstract

Climate change, also called global warming, refers to the rise in the average surface temperature on Earth. Over the past century, earth's average temperature has risen by 1.5°F, and is projected to rise 0.5 to 8.6°F over the next hundred years. These changes in the average temperature of the earth may lead to potentially dangerous shifts in climate and weather. Increased rainfall, decreased precipitation, augmented temperature, frequent heat waves, droughts and floods have likely to pose challenges for economic, social and geo-political security of states. Present study is an effort to understand the impacts produced by changing climate in social, economic and political spheres and its link with the emergence of violent conflicts. It further aims to investigate the relationship between National Security and Conflict however the main focus will be the domestic societies of under-developing countries. In order to address the objectives of this study, descriptive research approach has been applied. The validity of concept has been tested by qualitative analysis of the climatic variations on economic, social and geo-political spheres. The study finds out that climate change and economic stability are inextricably linked. The data of this study also suggested that the impacts of climate change are expected to act as a ''Threat Multiplier '' as a whole and can be more disastrous for the unstable regions thus resulting in shortage of food, water and other resources. It is thus concluded that scenario may lead to increased risks of conflicts among nations for control over the natural resources though climate change is unlikely to be a primary cause of conflict however it will remain an important factor in the emergence of conflict and it may also amplify the existing conflicts due to scarcity of resources.