Changes in weather patterns caused by climate change are facilitating changes in terrorist activity locations.

Preliminary research conducted by Dr. Jared Dmello, an expert on extremism at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Adelaide, Australia, found that several weather variables influence terrorist activity in India.

“The suitability analysis shows that all climatological variables analyzed (temperature, precipitation and altitude) are associated with changing patterns of terrorist activity,” Dr Dmello said in a statement.

“The population density of urban centers is increasingly increasing, especially in areas with a favorable climate, and some of the more remote areas that were once used by extremists are experiencing an increasingly dynamic climate that is no longer suitable for human habitation, forcing these groups to migrate to other places,” Dmello said.

Not only did terrorists move to new locations due to the intensity of these weather variables, but these changes in terrorist activity were also seasonal.

“This research shows that stopping the harmful effects of climate change is not only an environmental issue, but also has direct implications for national security and defense,” says Dr. Dmello, who was recently announced as the first recipient of the Science Prize. Section of Security and Crime Prevention of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

In this study, we focus on the location of the attack, but the evidence also suggests that other forms of extremist behavior, such as location of education, are also likely to change in response to climate change.

Research published in the journal Journal of Applied Security Researchdedicated to terrorist activities in India between 1998 and 2017, during which 9,096 were reported terrorist incidents recorded by the Global Terrorism Database.

“Average temperatures in India reached record levels during the 20 years of our study,” Dr Dmello said.