Volume V Special Issue VI December 2025

Name of Author : Gouri Nandana, Meenakshi M P & Dr. Mary Liya

Title of the paper : Climate Variability, Migration, and Livelihood Adaptations: An Exploratory Case Study of Wayanad

Abstract: Climate variability has become a decisive factor influencing livelihood sustainability and patterns of human mobility across agrarian landscapes, particularly in ecologically sensitive regions like Wayanad, Kerala. Over recent decades, changes in rainfall patterns, linear infrastructure development, construction activities, loss of forests, an increase in extreme weather events, and higher temperatures have significantly altered the districts fragile ecosystem. Accentuated by climate changes, soil erosion, deforestation, and slope instability together produce frequent landslides that destroy the ecology and economies of the area. The landslides that occurred in Wayanad between 2018 and 2024 epitomize the complex humanitarian consequences emanating from the interlinkages between environmental degradation and climate variability. This exploratory study examines the complex interconnections between climate variability, migration, and livelihood adaptation in Wayanad district. Employing a mixed methods approach that integrates household surveys, and key informant interviews, the study investigates how changes in rainfall regimes, temperature anomalies, and the growing frequency of extreme weather events have affected agricultural productivity, income stability and their livelihood. Migration emerges not only as an adaptation mechanism but also as a process reshaping social relations, labour markets, and household structures. This paper underscores the dynamic interplay between environmental stress and socio economic adaptation in shaping livelihood resilience. It concludes that an integrated policy approach linking climate adaptation planning, sustainable rural development, the urgent need for sustainable land management, adaptive livelihood strategies, and supportive policies to build climate resilience in rural mountainous regions and inclusive migration governance is essential for strengthening the adaptive capacity of vulnerable households in Wayanad.

Keywords : Climate Variability, Migration, Environment, Landslides, Wayanad

DOI :

Page Number : 177-180