Madagascar was once a place abundant with wide ranges of flora and fauna. Now, scientists have a general consensus that increasing global temperature has destroyed most of its rich vegetation and made it the first region to be hit with famine induced by climate change. Approximately four years of drought along with human caused deforestation, poverty and population growth has turned Madagascar into the first country to have famine befall upon it because of climate change.

Currently, more than one million people are receiving food from the World Food Programme (WFP) which is part of United Nations. WFP’s staff poignantly expressed that the weather patterns in southern Madagascar has changed drastically over the years.

Theodore Mbainaissem, WFP chief for Androy and Anosy, says “If you ask the elders 'do you think it's going to rain,' they say they don't know. Before, they could tell from the position of the moon when it was going to rain, but people do not manage to analyse anymore.”

Persistent intervention by WFP, other aid organisations and local authorities has thwarted the worst of the food crisis in Madagascar. However, United Nations IPCC report highlights that drought will continue to be a problem. The population of Madagascar is grappling with severe poverty and they are cutting down vegetation for land use which further exasperates the problem. Despite being the world’s fourth largest island filled with endless natural resources, the nation’s primary source of economy is agriculture.

WFP says that the work in Madagascar may take a long while to be actually completed although there is some temporary relief now.

Source: https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/03/20/how-climate-change-is-turning-once-green-madagascar-into-a-desert