Climate Change and Migration because of Urban Heat: Research trends through a bibliometric lens

Abstract

Climate change and migration are deeply interconnected, with rising urban heat which is amplified by urban heat island (UHI) effects and is emerging as a significant but understudied driver of human mobility. This exerts significant pressure on city dwellers, with rising temperatures and unmitigated heat intensifying migration dynamics. While both climate-induced migration and urban heat have been separately studied, their intersection remains an overlooked area. When it comes to climate-induced migration, it is not just about numbers but it is a whole sage of rules, complexity of inter-country citizenships issues, physical pressure on the rehabilitated land and local pressure on GDP. Despite developments in technology, there is dearth of predictive holistic models. Needless to say, there is an issue around taxonomy too.

This article analysis using a bibliometric lens to chart the evolution of research exploring how urban heat drives human migration and maps research trends at the intersection of climate change, urban heat and human migration. We draw upon bibliometric literature on climate-induced mobility, urbanclimate studies and heatexposure inequities to identify emerging patterns and gaps. While heat-induced migration remains underrepresented in bibliometric mapping, our review underscores an urgent need for integrative, equityinformed and regionally grounded bibliometric inquiry into urban heatdriven migration.

A bibliometric review was conducted using key academic database of Scopus, spanning multiple decades. Keywords were used and 363 articles meeting the inclusion & exclusion criterion were selected. Analytical tools including coword and cluster mapping (as seen in VOSviewer) were applied to track publication trends, research hotspots, geographic contributions and thematic linkages. Insights from broader climate migration and urban thermal environment studies were integrated to contextualize findings. The research shows the simultaneous growth of research on resilience, adaptability and gender issues besides the ones on climate-induced migration due to urban heat.