Migration crisis, current development and new platform of migration flows by IOM

By Carlotta Duken.

Despite cooling temperatures in the European Mediterranean, the migration flows from African and Middle Eastern countries do not seem to decline.

On the contrary, the month of October showed the strongest increase in arrivals on European soil since the beginning of the year. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates 167,037 new migrants which arrived on the coasts of Italy, Malta, Greece and Spain only during the month of October.

The total number of arrivals on the European Mediterranean coast for 2015 lies now at 760,979. In the last month, 303 people did not survive their journeys across the sea, adding up to 3,406 deaths during the year 2015.

Whilst in October no new arrivals have been noted on the coasts of Italy by the IOM, the number of migrant reaching Greece, in particular its islands, remains high. Only during the first days of November, Greek authorities have registered 4,122 new arrivals, of which some people could have also arrived earlier as the procedure of registration can take some days.

The main countries of origin stay Syria and Afghanistan, whereas most arrivals departed from Turkey before arriving in Greece. Most migrants land on the islands of Lesvos, Kos, Samos, Rhodes, Kalymnos, Megisti, Leros and Chios.

Last month the IOM developed a comprehensive platform on Europe’s Migration Emergency. The platforms indicates and visualizes migration flows from Africa and Middle East to Europe and thereby helps to grasp the complexity and scope of current migration patterns and trends. An interactive map also helps to understand and evaluate trends and key locations.

Given that the platform is continuously being updated, it serves as a tool to follow the current developments in the migrant crisis. The map provides views on recent trends, transit routes, internally displaced and refugees, missing migrants, the network of IOM offices, and the countries Iraq and Syria.

A link to the platform is provided here: Migration Flows Europe