Is there a link between climate change and violence?

Some people say that the growing threat of terrorism is linked with climate change. Vox.com examined the topic and found interesting connections.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said during a debate that climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism. However, the website notes that this statement is oversimplified, since the relationship between climate change and conflict is more complex, but nonetheless, it is a security issue.

According to vox.com, the Fertile Crescent region (Syria, Iraq) has experienced periodic droughts during the history, and recent decades’ global warming increased these dryings. An extremely serious drought between 2007 and 2010 helped foster civil unrest which evolved into war.

However, climate change itself is not enough to create a civil war. In the case of Syria, the government’s waste of water resources, the coming of Iraqi and Palestinian refugees and lots of political and social factors played a role, as well as the extreme violence used by the Assad regime during the unrest in Daraa.