Gulrez Shah Azhar

Gulrez is a researcher passionate about health, the environment and development. He along with other partners helped develop India’s first heat preparedness plan in Ahmedabad, India. He currently works as an Assistant Policy Analyst at the non-profit RAND Corporation and is also a Public Policy doctoral student at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, where his …

Meet the Fellow

Is the world ready for climate migrants?

Wildfires tearing across Southern California have forced thousands of residents to evacuate from their homes. Even more people fled ahead of the hurricanes that slammed into Texas and Florida earlier this year, jamming highways and filling hotels. A viral social media postshowed a flight-radar picture of people trying to escape Florida and posed a provocative …

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Climate Change Refugees: A Global Crisis Is Looming

There are ever more refugees fleeing the effects of climate change, be it floods, hurricanes, rising sea levels or expanding deserts. By the middle of this century, experts estimate that climate change is likely to displace between 150 and 300 million people, a population nearly as large as that of the United States. Yet today, …

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Undaunted: Defining Moments

In every leader's journey, there is a moment, or a series of moments, that stand out — a miserable failure, a grand success, a total surprise. The magic in that experience is rarely just the moment itself, but most often the way in which each leader responded to it. It is that response that shapes …

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Where Are India’s Heat Hotspots?

Heat waves across the world have killed tens of thousands of people since the turn of the century. In the U.S., more people die from deaths related to heat than all other natural phenomena combined. Parts of West Asia are expected to become inhospitable to human life by the end of this century. And in recent years, India …

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