Deciphering climate-induced displacement in Somalia: A remote sensing perspective

RESEARCH ARTICLE Deciphering climate-induced displacement in Somalia: A remote sensing perspective Rahman Momeni1, Tuba BircanID2*, Robert King1, Eloy Zafra Santos1 1 GMV, Harwell, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, 2 Dept. of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium * tuba.bircan@vub.be Abstract Rapid climate changes bear significant consequences on various aspects of our lives, nota- bly by deteriorating living conditions in certain areas to such extent that inhabitants have no choice but flee. Despite recognition of this issue, the dynamics of the relationship between the environmental factors and the human mobility have yet to be thoroughly investigated. This study aims to explore the application of advanced remote sensing analytics for devel- oping detailed climate indicators at a micro (district) level, and to examine the relationship between climate factors and internally displaced persons. After detailing our data sources and the analytics employed for indicator development, we discuss various types of events and their repercussions. Our findings corroborate that slow-onset and rapid-onset climate events differently impact society, and the responses hinge on the urgency precipitated by the detrimental aftermath of the extreme weather event and, most crucially, on people’s capabilities. We also underscore the importance of data quality and availability for the socio- economic indicators to enhance future studies, given the intertwined associations between climate change, economic deprivation, and violent conflict. Introduction

Over the past decade, we have witnessed numerous shocks across the globe - whether political, economic, societal, or environmental - triggering humanitarian crises and prompting millions to flee or be displaced. Political instability in the Middle East and economic downturns in Latin America since 2015, for instance, have dominated international discourse as mass dis- placement ensued, with individuals initially seeking refuge in neighbouring countries before looking further afield [1–5]. Such crises, and the resultant emigration they provoke, have been extensively documented and rigorously studied. As of February 2022, global attention has turned towards Ukraine as it confronts its own displacement struggle. Whilst these sudden - albeit not unexpected - events typically attract significant attention due to the immediate response required from host countries, numerous nations, particularly in Asia and Africa, have been contending with the severe impacts of chronic or acute environmental disasters for years. When compounded with enduring chal- lenges like poverty, famine, armed violence, and political instability, these environmental PLOS ONE PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0304202 August 9, 2024 1 / 27 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 OPEN ACCESS Citation: Momeni R, Bircan T, King R, Santos EZ (2024) Deciphering climate-induced displacement in Somalia: A remote sensing perspective. PLoS ONE 19(8): e0304202. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0304202 Editor: Bijeesh Kozhikkodan Veettil, Van Lang

University: Truong Dai hoc Van Lang, VIET NAM Received: May 23, 2023 Accepted: May 8, 2024 Published: August 9, 2024 Peer Review History: PLOS recognizes the benefits of transparency in the peer review process; therefore, we enable the publication of all of the content of peer review and author responses alongside final, published articles. The editorial history of this article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0304202 Copyright: © 2024 Momeni et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All data are publicly available. To be more specific, - The aggregated and anonymised tabular data used for this paper is available under the link: https://github.com/ bircantuba/HMB.git - The OSF data (for the remote