The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence

“There are fewer and fewer forms of instability... that are not at least partly connected to climate,” asserts journalist Schwartzstein in his eye-opening debut. Drawing on more than a decade of reporting, Schwartzstein surveys “vulnerable landscapes” around the globe where climate change has acted as an intensifier of violence. Examples include Syria, where drought was a factor in triggering a civil war in 2011 (“Bad rains, bad government, bad times. We could not continue,” one herder succinctly explains) and Bangladesh, where piracy is on the rise as farmers whose farmlands are being despoiled by increased flooding venture into “lawless” coastal marshes to fish and forage, where they are vulnerable to robbery and kidnapping. Schwartzstein highlights areas where the potential for future violence is high (including the Nile river basin, where shrinking water reserves could lead to war between Egypt and Ethiopia) and emphasizes that developed nations are already experiencing global warming’s violence-intensifying effects (he points to studies showing that European women are more vulnerable to domestic abuse during heat waves). Schwartzstein’s vignettes of each troubled region are vibrantly narrated as he encounters indignant locals and has run-ins with menacing state security officials attempting to block his investigations into what they invariably consider a “sensitive” subject. It’s a riveting journey through a world running hot. (Sept.)