Madagascar paying price for cheap European flights, says climate minister

Politician says droughts and climate-induced famine in the country are a result of the behaviours of rich nations

More than a million people facing the first climate-induced famine in Madagascar are paying the price for cheap flights in Europe and appliances such as gas heaters, the country's environment minister has said.

For several years now, the south of Madagascar has suffered successive droughts of increasing severity, and the situation has deteriorated sharply over the last few months. In August, the UN said the country was facing the world's first climate change famine. On Tuesday, a World Food Programme representative spoke of a heartbreaking" visit to the country.