MEV 025: Unit 08 – Impacts of climate change on human security

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 UNIT 8: IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON HUMAN SECURITY

8.1 Introduction

Human security, as defined by the United Nations, encompasses the protection of individuals from chronic threats such as hunger, disease, and repression, as well as protection from sudden disruptions in daily life. In the 21st century, climate change has emerged as a critical driver of threats to human security, affecting basic needs like food, water, health, shelter, and livelihood.

Unlike traditional security threats that are confined to national borders or military conflicts, climate change presents global, multi-dimensional challenges that transcend boundaries and disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable. Rising sea levels, extreme weather, declining agricultural yields, and water scarcity all contribute to displacements, poverty, and conflict, eroding the very foundations of human security.

8.2 Objectives

  • To understand the relationship between climate change and human security.
  • To identify how weather events, sea-level rise, and other climate phenomena affect basic human needs.
  • To examine the impact of climate change on human rights and well-being.
  • To explore the multiple dimensions of human security under climate stress.

8.3 Climate Change Risks and their Effects on Human Basic Needs

8.3.1 Weather Events

Extreme weather events like floods, heatwaves, cyclones, and wildfires are increasing in intensity and frequency due to climate change.

Impacts:

  • Destroy homes and infrastructure, displacing populations.
  • Cause physical injury and death.
  • Disrupt access to essential services (healthcare, transport, communication).
  • Disproportionately affect urban slums, coastal populations, and informal settlements.

8.3.2 Sea-level Rise

Thermal expansion of water and melting of glaciers contribute to rising sea levels, threatening coastal and low-lying regions.

Impacts:

  • Submergence of land and infrastructure.
  • Saltwater intrusion into freshwater supplies and agricultural land.
  • Displacement of millions, leading to environmental refugees.
  • Threats to island nations and coastal megacities (e.g., Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai).

8.3.3 Drought

Changing precipitation patterns result in prolonged dry spells and droughts, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions.

Impacts:

  • Reduced water availability for drinking, irrigation, and industry.
  • Decreased agricultural productivity, leading to food insecurity.
  • Livelihood loss in farming communities.
  • Greater dependence on unreliable groundwater sources.

8.3.4 Wildlife

Changes in habitat, temperature, and food sources affect wildlife migration and survival.

Impacts:

  • Biodiversity loss due to habitat fragmentation and species extinction.
  • Imbalance in ecosystems affecting services like pollination and pest control.
  • Increased human-wildlife conflict as animals move into human settlements.

8.3.5 Biomes

A biome is a large ecological area with distinct flora and fauna. Climate change shifts biome boundaries.

Impacts:

  • Forests may transition into grasslands or deserts due to temperature stress.
  • Coral reefs bleach and die due to warming seas and acidification.
  • Alpine ecosystems shrink, affecting endemic species.

8.3.6 Agriculture and Food Security

Food production systems are highly climate-sensitive.

Impacts:

  • Changes in rainfall, temperature, and pests reduce crop yields.
  • Food prices rise, affecting affordability and access.
  • Nutritional quality of food declines (e.g., protein content in rice and wheat).
  • Livestock health and productivity decrease.

8.3.7 Human Health

Climate change affects health through both direct and indirect pathways.

Impacts:

  • Spread of vector-borne diseases (malaria, dengue).
  • Increased respiratory illnesses due to air pollution and heat.
  • Malnutrition due to food insecurity.
  • Waterborne diseases following floods and poor sanitation.
  • Psychological stress from displacement and disaster trauma.

8.4 Human Rights and Human Security in the Context of Climate Change

Climate change threatens the basic human rights to life, food, water, health, shelter, and security. The UN Human Rights Council has acknowledged that climate change impacts human rights in the following ways:

  • Right to life is threatened by disasters and disease.
  • Right to food and water is undermined by agricultural losses and drought.
  • Right to health is compromised by disease outbreaks and environmental degradation.
  • Right to shelter is violated by rising sea levels and storm damage.
  • Right to self-determination is at risk for communities forced to migrate.

Marginalized groups—such as indigenous peoples, women, children, and the poor—face the greatest threats, making climate change not just an environmental issue, but a justice and equity issue.

8.5 Climate Change Impacts and Dimensions of Human Security

Human security is multi-dimensional and climate change affects each of its key pillars:

Dimension

Climate Change Impact

Economic Security

Job loss in climate-sensitive sectors (agriculture, fisheries); increased poverty.

Food Security

Declining crop yields; reduced food access; malnutrition.

Water Security

Drought, glacier melt, and saltwater intrusion reduce water availability.

Health Security

Spread of diseases, mental stress, reduced access to healthcare during disasters.

Environmental Security

Loss of biodiversity, land degradation, and pollution.

Personal Security

Increased exposure to disasters and displacement.

Community Security

Climate-induced migration causing strain on host communities and services.

Political Security

Instability due to resource conflict, migration, and governance failure.

Thus, climate change threatens not just survival, but also dignity, identity, and development of human beings.

8.6 Let Us Sum Up

  • Climate change directly threatens human security by affecting health, food, water, shelter, and economic stability.
  • Extreme weather, rising sea levels, droughts, and ecosystem changes undermine basic human needs.
  • Climate change impacts core human rights and disproportionately affects the vulnerable.
  • Multiple dimensions of human security—economic, environmental, personal—are being eroded.
  • Addressing climate-related human security requires a rights-based, equitable, and adaptive approach in national and global policies.

8.7 Keywords

  1. Human Security – A people-centered approach to security that focuses on protecting individuals from threats to their basic needs.
  2. Environmental Refugees – People displaced due to environmental factors such as sea-level rise or drought.
  3. Food Security – Reliable access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food.
  4. Vector-borne Diseases – Illnesses transmitted by vectors like mosquitoes (e.g., malaria, dengue).
  5. Biomes – Ecological communities classified by climate, vegetation, and wildlife.
  6. Right to Life – A fundamental human right protected by national and international law.
  7. Resilience – The capacity to absorb and recover from climate-related shocks.
  8. Adaptive Capacity – The ability of individuals or communities to adjust to climate change impacts.
  9. Climate Justice – The fair treatment of all people in climate policy, ensuring no group bears an unequal burden.
  10. Personal Security – Freedom from physical violence and natural or man-made threats.

 

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