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Climate Refugees

Interactive passage with audio narration, comprehension questions, and printable PDF.

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Format: Interactive (Online), Printable (PDF)
Grades: 5678
Subjects: scienceela
Languages: English, Spanish

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What's included

Reading passage

Reading comprehension

Audio narration

With word word highlighting

Comprehension quiz

Auto-graded

Writing activity

Open-ended response

Glossary & flashcards

Vocabulary practice

Differentiated version

Adapted for varied levels

Spanish translation

Bilingual support

About this reader

This 500-word reading passage explores the growing issue of climate refugees for middle school students in grades 6-8. Aligned with NGSS Earth Science standards, the passage explains how climate impacts like rising sea levels, persistent drought, failed harvests, and repeated natural disasters are forcing people to leave their homes. Students learn that most displacement occurs within countries rather than across international borders, and that climate refugees currently lack the legal status afforded to war refugees. The passage includes real-world examples from the Sahel region, Pacific Islands, and Bangladesh, helping students understand the human dimension of climate change. Audio-integrated features support diverse learners. Activities include comprehension questions, writing prompts about cause-and-effect relationships, and graphic organizers that help students analyze the connections between climate change and human migration. This curriculum emphasizes dignity and frames climate refugees as families adapting to environmental forces beyond their control.

Written by Workybooks TeamPublished by Workybooks

Sample passage and quiz content

CONTENT PREVIEW

Cyclone Aila Climate Change Nijhum Dwip 2009 Dec Bangladesh.jpg — When climate change makes a place unlivable, people must leave their homes. These individuals are called climate refugees,

When climate change makes a place unlivable, people must leave their homes. These individuals are called climate refugees, though they lack official legal recognition. Rising seas, relentless drought, failed crops, and repeated disasters are pushing millions of people from their homes. This displacement creates one of the most challenging human impacts of climate change.

Climate refugees face different challenges than war refugees. International law protects people fleeing conflict and persecution. However, no similar legal framework exists for people displaced by environmental changes. This gap leaves climate refugees without guaranteed rights to asylum or resettlement. Evidence shows that most climate displacement happens within countries, not across international borders. People move from coastal areas to inland cities or from drought-stricken farms to urban centers.

Scientists observe that several climate impacts drive people from their homes. Sea level rise threatens low-lying coastal communities and small island nations. In the Pacific Islands, entire communities face the loss of their ancestral homelands as ocean waters rise. Persistent drought in regions like the Sahel in Africa causes crops to fail repeatedly. Farmers cannot grow enough food to support their families. In Bangladesh, stronger cyclones and flooding force families to relocate multiple times. These are not isolated incidents but patterns that scientists can measure and track.

The term climate refugee describes families adapting to forces they did not create. Most affected communities have contributed very little to global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet they experience the most severe consequences. Adaptation strategies include moving to higher ground, changing crops, or migrating to cities. Some families move temporarily during disaster seasons. Others must relocate permanently when their land becomes uninhabitable.

Understanding climate refugees matters because their numbers are growing. By 2050, scientists estimate that between 25 million and 1 billion people may be displaced by climate impacts. The wide range reflects uncertainty about future emissions and adaptation success. Creating legal protections and support systems for climate refugees represents a critical challenge. Countries must develop plans to help displaced populations while also reducing emissions to prevent further displacement. This issue connects environmental science, human rights, and international cooperation.

Interesting Fact: The Pacific island nation of Kiribati has purchased land in Fiji as a potential refuge for its 110,000 citizens if rising seas make their islands uninhabitable.

What are people called when they must leave their homes because of climate change?

Climate refugeesWar refugeesEnvironmental migrantsDisaster victims

According to the passage, where do most climate refugees move?

To other continentsWithin their own countriesTo island nationsAcross the ocean

What does the term 'displacement' mean in this passage?

Moving to a better location by choiceTraveling for vacationBeing forced to leave one's homeBuilding new houses

Which climate impact is mentioned as affecting the Sahel region in Africa?

Rising sea levelsPersistent droughtHurricanesEarthquakes

Why do climate refugees face different challenges than war refugees?

They travel shorter distancesThey lack official legal recognition and protectionThey move more frequentlyThey always return home

What does 'adaptation' mean in the context of climate refugees?

Ignoring climate changeStrategies people use to survive changing conditionsMoving to colder climatesBuilding walls against water

According to scientists, how many people may be displaced by climate impacts by 2050?

Between 1 million and 10 millionBetween 25 million and 1 billionExactly 500 millionBetween 5 billion and 7 billion

What did the nation of Kiribati purchase in Fiji?

Fishing boatsSolar panelsLand as a potential refugeWater purification systems

True or False: Climate refugees have the same legal protections as people fleeing war.

TrueFalse

True or False: Most communities affected by climate displacement have contributed very little to global greenhouse gas emissions.

TrueFalse

Climate Refugees

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CONTENT PREVIEW

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