National University of Singapore Southeast Asian Studies Department lecturer Dr Serina Rahman said rural communities across Southeast Asia are bearing the brunt of rapidly changing climate.
PETALING JAYA: Climate change is no longer a distant threat for Malaysian farmers and fishermen, but is already disrupting livelihoods, endangering lives and affecting food security.
National University of Singapore Southeast Asian Studies Department lecturer Dr Serina Rahman said rural communities across Southeast Asia are bearing the brunt of rapidly changing climate.
“Farmers and fishermen are the people on the frontlines of climate change.”
She said these lower-income groups form the backbone of regional food production and are especially vulnerable to economic shocks.
Serina pointed out that they are increasingly grappling with erratic weather patterns that are making their traditional livelihoods harder to sustain.
She said increasingly frequent and unpredictable extreme weather, oscillating between droughts and floods, are disrupting agricultural cycles.
“Crop seasonality is becoming harder to predict, affecting seed production and planting schedules.
“In some cases, newly planted seedlings or crops ready for harvest are destroyed by sudden weather events, leaving farmers with significant losses.”
She said monsoon seasons have become increasingly erratic while storms are growing more intense and dangerous, adding that weather that once remained stable for weeks could now shift several times in a single day.
“Rains and winds do not follow patterns that fishermen have observed for generations.”
Serina said sudden storms have caused fishing boats to capsize, while both fishermen and farmers are increasingly exposed to unpredictable lightning strikes.
She said prolonged severe weather could prevent fishermen from going out to sea, affecting their livelihood. For farmers, a failed harvest could be financially devastating.
She added that these disruptions threaten food supply chains, with ripple effects across processing industries and urban populations dependent on rural producers.
Serina said as climate-related disasters become more frequent, authorities have strengthened emergency response capabilities.
She stressed that preparedness alone could not address risks compounded by poor planning and development decisions.
She questioned why homes continue to be built in flood-prone and hazardous areas, including former retention pond sites, riverbanks and zones beneath dams.
“No matter how prepared you are, if your infrastructure is built in a danger zone, the risks remain.”
She said some disasters are worsened by human activity, including hillside clearing for logging and development projects that heighten the risk of landslides and debris flows during heavy rainfall.
“How much are we adding anthropogenic problems to an issue that is already beyond our control?”
She pointed out that many local communities are quietly adapting, with farmers adjusting planting schedules and fishermen changing fishing times and locations in response to changing sea conditions and fish movements.
“These are not glamorous solutions. People are simply doing what they need to do to survive.”
She said public discourse on climate change often centres on ambitious targets and headline initiatives, overlooking the immediate realities faced by affected communities.
Serina also rejected claims that climate change is merely part of the Earth’s natural cycle.
“Yes, climate change has occurred throughout Earth’s history but not at this pace.”
She added that rising temperatures, extreme heat and sudden heavy storms are likely to become increasingly common in the years ahead.
Source: climate-change-disrupting-livelihoods
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