A new study has found that Madagascar’s current food crisis has been caused mainly by factors other than global warming – contradicting a recent UN report which blamed it on climate change.
The report – by a group of international scientists, published by World Weather Attribution – blamed poverty and weather conditions that were only minimally affected by global warming.
It said in two consecutive seasons in southern Madagascar, rainfall had been 40% below average, causing severe drought and crop failures.
Last month the UN World Food Programme declared that Madagascar was the first country experiencing famine-like conditions as result of climate change.
More than 90% of people in southern Madagascar live in poverty and farmers rely on each season’s rain.
