Sea-level rise and severer droughts due to global warming may possibly force 200 million to one billion people to leave their places of residence and make them refugees by mid-century. Many of them will come from poor developing countries. Researchers warn that a huge number of "climate refugees" will destabilize the world situation. The people most likely to be displaced will be North American and Greenlandic aborigines affected by the ice melting as the temperatures rise and inhabitants in densely-populated Asian nations, such as Bangladesh, whose places of residence will be submerged with sea surface elevation. Some islanders and sub-Saharan Africans in drought-striken farmlands will also become refugees. Darfur Crisis A climate change has created many refugees, intensifying a regional conflict. In Darfur, western Sudan, allegedly, about 200 thousand people were massacred, and over two million took refuge in other parts of the country or fled to its neighbor Chad. Severe droughts displaced many inhabitants from their farmlands, which incurred the confusion. In this area, the rainfall decreased by an average of 16 to 30 percent in the past 80 years. This climate change was unprecedented. It had a lot to do with the regional conflict. If global warming continues, conflicts like the one in Darfur will occur in different areas around the world. [Vocabulary] possibly adv. 1 used to say that sth might exist, happen or be true, but you are not certain perhaps: It was possibly their worst performance ever. She found it difficult to get on with her, possibly because of the difference in their ages. ‘Will you be around next week?’ ‘Possibly.’ ‘I’m sure he didn’t mean to be rude.’ ‘Quite possibly (= you may be right), but the damage has been done.’ refuge noun 1 [U] ~ (from sb/sth) shelter or protection from danger, trouble, etc.: A further 300 people have taken refuge in the US embassy. They were forced to seek refuge from the fighting. a place of refuge As the situation at home got worse she increasingly took refuge in her work. 2 [C] ~ (from sb/sth) a place, person or thing that provides shelter or protection for sb/sth: He regarded the room as a refuge from the outside world. a wetland refuge for birds refugee noun a person who has been forced to leave their country or home, because there is a war or for political, religious or social reasons: a steady flow of refugees from the war zone political / economic refugees a refugee camp on: to drive sheep into a field The enemy was driven back. displace /dsples/ verb [vn] [often passive] 1 to take the place of sb/sth replace: Gradually factory workers have been displaced by machines. (technical) The ship displaces 58 000 tonnes (= as a way of measuring its size). 2 to force people to move away from their home to another place: Around 10 000 people have been displaced by the fighting. 3 to move sth from its usual position: Check for roof tiles that have been displaced by the wind. 4 (especially NAmE) to remove sb from a job or position: displaced workers displaced person noun (pl. displaced persons) (technical) a refugee evacuate verb 1 [vn] to move people from a place of danger to a safer place: Police evacuated nearby buildings. Children were evacuated from London to escape the bombing. Families were evacuated to safer parts of the city. 2 to move out of a place because of danger, and leave the place empty: [vn] Employees were urged to evacuate their offices immediately. [v] Locals were told to evacuate. 3 [vn] (formal) to empty your bowels evacuation /vkjuen/ noun [U, C]: the emergency evacuation of thousands of people after the earthquake evacuee noun a person who is sent away from a place because it is dangerous, especially during a war flee /fli/ verb (fled, fled /fled/) [no passive] ~ (from) sb/sth| ~ (to ... / into ... ) to leave a person or place very quickly, especially because you are afraid of possible danger: [v] a camp for refugees fleeing from the war He fled to London after an argument with his family. She burst into tears and fled. [vn] He was caught trying to flee the country. The driver had already fled the scene of the accident.compare fly v. (12) drought /drat/ noun [U, C] a long period of time when there is little or no rain: two years of severe drought one of the worst droughts on record The country’s entire grain harvest has been hit by drought. aborigine /brdni/ noun 1 a member of a race of people who were the original people living in a country allege /led/ verb [often passive] (formal) to state sth as a fact but without giving proof: [v (that)] The prosecution alleges (that) she was driving carelessly. [vn that] It is alleged that he mistreated the prisoners. [vn to inf] He is alleged to have mistreated the prisoners. This pattern is only used in the passive. [vn] This procedure should be followed in cases where dishonesty has been alleged. [also v speech] alleged adj. [only before noun] (formal): the alleged attacker / victim / killer (= that sb says is one) the alleged attack / offence / incident (= that sb says has happened) The girl gave evidence in court against her alleged attacker. al?leged?ly /leddli/ adv.: crimes allegedly committed during the war invite verb to make sth, especially sth bad or unpleasant, likely to happen ask for: [vn] Such comments are just inviting trouble. influx noun [usually sing.] ~ (of sb/sth) (into ... ) the fact of a lot of people, money or things arriving somewhere: a massive / sudden influx of visitors the influx of wealth into the region drive MAKE SB / STH MOVE [vn + adv. / prep.] to force sb/sth to move in a particular directi Oxford Advanced Learners Dictoinary (OALD) |
