‘Heartbreaking’ Madagascar is wake-up call to climate crisis

By FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — The head of the U.N. food aid agency says the drought-stricken island nation of Madagascar is a “wake up call” to what the world can expect in coming years due to climate change. David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Program, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that what’s happening in the south of the Indian Ocean country is “the beginning of what we can expect” to see as the effects of global warming become more pronounced. When the former South Carolina governor took the World Food Program helm in 2017, the top reason for people being on the brink of starvation was man-made conflict. He says climate change is the top driver now.