In Madagascar, poverty & over-reliance on annual rains led to terrible food crisis: Study

A recent news study suggested that poverty and over-reliance on annual rains are the main reasons behind the terrible food crisis experienced by southern Madagascar, rather than climate change. Following the worst drought in 30 years, a million people in the region are found to be struggling for food. Despite the World Food Programme's describing it as the "world's first climate-induced famine," the latest study found no conclusive link to global warming. The drought, which has left Madagascar with 60% of its usual rainfall from July 2019 to June 2021, was analyzed by World Weather Attribution - which conducts real-time research on extreme weather across the world.

The researchers did not find any statistically significant evidence of human-caused climate change. Instead, they found out that the drought was a rare weather occurrence that occurs once every 135 years or so. "It's a rare event but it's within natural variability. For this type of low rainfall, climate change is not the main driver," Friederike Otto, co-author of the study, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press (AP). According to her, rainfall variations from high to low are normal in Madagascar. However, Otto also added that famine has a major issue in the region. "The driver of the famine or the food security is very much the high vulnerability of the people in the region. There are shockingly high poverty rates," the researcher added.

Rainfall in southern Madagascar has been 40% below average for the past two rainy seasons, resulting in severe drought, crop failures, and a humanitarian disaster, with tens of thousands of people facing starvation. More than 90% of the population in the region is poor, and farmers rely on rainwater rather than stored water and irrigation. The researchers used weather records, climate projections, and computer models to analyse the impact of global warming on the Madagascan drought. This allowed them to compare the likelihood of the event in today's world, which is already 1.2 degrees hotter, to the likelihood of a world without any human-caused global warming.

Last month, the United Nations WFP warned that more than 1.1 million people in southern Madagascar require immediate food and nutrition assistance. Nearly 7,00,000 people have already received food aid, according to the UN food agency which has collaborated with the Madagascar government and other humanitarian organisations to provide essentials to people. The efforts that the WFP has been making with the government include access to water, reforestation, sand dune stabilization, and economic support, reported AP.

(With AP inputs)

Image: AP