What makes people abandon their land is not heat per se, but lack of water

People abandon their land primarily because of the lack of water, not simply because of heat. Water scarcity directly reduces agricultural productivity, undermines food security, and forces families to seek alternative livelihoods elsewhere when farming becomes unviable.farmonaut+2​

Water Scarcity as a Driver

• Lack of sufficient water for irrigation is a top cause of farmland abandonment worldwide. Recurrent droughts, declining groundwater, and unreliable rainfall make long-term cultivation untenable.easterncaribbean.un+1​

• When agriculture is heavily dependent on rainwater, regions facing increasing drought or water variability see greater migration and land abandonment, especially among subsistence farmers.nature+2​

• Water stress leads to reduced income, direct impacts on food security, and fewer rural jobs, escalating migration from affected areas. This pattern is documented in regions like the Americas, South Asia, and the Middle East.worldbank+2​

Heat vs. Water

• Higher temperatures do intensify agricultural challenges, but if water is available (through irrigation or stable rain), cultivation often persists despite heat.interactive.carbonbrief​

• Extreme heat only prompts migration when coupled with water scarcity, as livelihoods collapse from crop failures and livestock losses due to insufficient water.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+1​

• Heat can exacerbate water shortages by increasing evaporation and plant transpiration, but it's the water deficit, not temperature alone, that ultimately drives abandonment.farmonaut+1​

Other Contributing Factors

• While lack of water is fundamental, socioeconomic issues, market instability, and poor infrastructure also contribute, but water remains the limiting resource in most cases.revistas.javeriana+1​

• Urban migration trends sometimes result from broader economic reasons, yet water scarcity is consistently identified as the final tipping point for land abandonment in agricultural regions.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+1​

In summary, land abandonment is most powerfully triggered by water scarcity, which erodes the ability to sustain agriculture and rural livelihoods, irrespective of temperature extremes.nature+2​

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