How climate change contributed to Syria's civil war
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A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science draws a connection between climate change and the civil war in Syria.
A devastating drought in the region from 2007 to 2010 forced a mass migration to the cities. That dramatic social change fomented a rebel movement and government backlash that has killed more than 200,000 people since 2011, according to the United Nations.
The Pentagon has listed climate change as a national security thread since 2010. Last fall it issued a plan to prepare for the effect of climate on American armed forces - including heat, sea level change and an increasing need for humanitarian assistance overseas.
On this week's Climate Cast, MPR News' Tom Crann and Meteorologist Paul Huttner talk with our guests about national security and climate change.
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