2019–2022 locust infestation

Last updated
2019–2022 locust infestation
Location
Statistics
Date(s)June 2019 – February 2022 [2]
Map
Desert locust swarm map, Oct 2020, FAO.jpg
Position and trajectory of the remaining locust swarms in the Horn of Africa and Yemen, October 2020

Between June 2019 and February 2022, a major outbreak of desert locusts began developing, threatening food supplies in East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent. The outbreak was the worst to hit Kenya in 70 years, and the worst in 25 years for Ethiopia, Somalia, and India. [3] [4]

Contents

The locust infestations began when Cyclone Mekunu in 2018 produced heavy rains in the Rub' al Khali of the Arabian Peninsula; [5] in spring 2019, swarms spread from these areas, and by June 2019, the locusts spread north to Iran, Pakistan, and India and south to East Africa, particularly the Horn of Africa. [5] By the end of 2019, there were swarms in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Oman, Iran, India, and Pakistan. [6] By June 2020, a separate swarm appeared in South America, affecting Paraguay and Argentina. [7]

In April 2020, travel and shipping restrictions precipitated by the spread of COVID-19 began to hamper efforts to control the locusts, preventing the transport of pesticides, equipment, and personnel, and contributing to the global incidence of COVID-19 related food insecurity. [8]

Locust swarms worldwide faced a steady decline in size from May to October 2020, as countries and intergovernmental organisations instituted extensive aerial and ground pest control efforts, aided by low quantities of rainfall in several affected regions, as well as the absence of storm activity in the Indian Ocean. By October 2020, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Yemen continued to harbour significant swarms of locusts, with the remainder situated in isolated pockets of Kenya, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. Locust swarms continued to threaten countries around the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as their immediate neighbours, until February 2022 when the surge was officially declared to be over. [4] [9] [10]

Causes

Swarm near Satrokala, Madagascar during a 2014 outbreak, illustrative of swarm sizes. Swarm of Locusts.JPG
Swarm near Satrokala, Madagascar during a 2014 outbreak, illustrative of swarm sizes.

When periods of heavy rainfall follow periods of relative drought, solitary desert locusts emerge to feed on new-growth foliage and lay eggs in the newly moist soil, which prevents them from drying out. [11] The sight and smell of other locusts, as well as sensory stimulation from contact between locusts' hind legs, precipitates changes in the locusts' behaviour and morphology; the previously green, nocturnal and solitary creatures become larger, develop black-and-yellow colouring, and begin to seek out other locusts, a process known as gregarization. [12] These changes result in the formation of large locust swarms that gregarize nearby locusts and breed profusely, allowing them to undergo rapid, exponential growth. The swarms proceed to feed on the newly abundant vegetation, making use of improved swarm coordination, the result of larger brain sizes, as well as increased range, the result of increased metabolic activity, larger muscles, and longer wings, to travel up to 130 km a day in search of new vegetation and moist weather, often propelling themselves by the wind. [13] [14]

Black and yellow colored Desert Locust. Black and Yellow Desert Locust.jpg
Black and yellow colored Desert Locust.

This particular desert locust plague traces back to May 2018, when Cyclone Mekunu passed over a vast, unpopulated desert on the southern Arabian Peninsula known as the Rub' al Khali, filling the space between sand dunes with ephemeral lakes, which allowed locusts to breed undetected. This was exacerbated in October 2018 by Cyclone Luban, which spawned in the central Arabian Sea, moved westward, and rained out over the same region near the border of Yemen and Oman. [15] [16] [17] [5] The Indian Ocean Dipole, an irregular oscillation in sea surface temperatures between the western and eastern parts of the Indian Ocean, has increased in magnitude due to the effects of climate change. [17] This shift has resulted in increased cyclone activity over the last decade in the Persian Gulf, previously home to very few cyclones, and is associated with flooding in countries along the western Indian Ocean, dry weather in the east, and bushfires in Australia. [18]

The two cyclones created conditions conducive to mass locust reproduction, enabling three generations of locusts to breed over a nine-month period, which increased their number in the Arabian desert roughly 8,000-fold.

Affected countries

Locust swarms had infested 23 countries by April 2020. East Africa was the epicenter of the locust crisis—with Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda among the affected countries. However, the locusts had traveled far, wiping out crops in Pakistan and damaging farms in Yemen, a fragile country already hit hard by years of conflict.

Africa

By the summer of 2019, swarms had reached over the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden into Ethiopia and Somalia, where they continued breeding and started causing concerns. This might have been as far as the locusts got were it not for the fact that during October 2018, East Africa experienced unusually widespread and intense autumn rains, which were capped in December by a rare late season cyclone Pawan that made landfall in Somalia. These events triggered yet another spurt of reproductive activity. [15] [19] [20]

In January 2020, the outbreak was affecting Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Burundi. The infestation "presents an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods in the Horn of Africa," according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). [21] Rising sea surface temperatures (cf. the Indian Ocean Dipole) tip the scales in favor of circulation patterns like the one that set the stage for the desert locust outbreak. Keith Cressman, senior locust forecasting officer with the Food and Agriculture Organization said, he thinks, "we can assume there will be more locust outbreaks and upsurges in the Horn of Africa.” [22] [23] The situation was fueled by unusually heavy rains, [11] causing a big concern in the Horn of Africa, where more than 24 million people are food insecure and 12 million people are internally displaced. [24] Favourable conditions for the locusts prolonged the menace through January 2021.[ citation needed ]

Kenya

On 28 December 2019, several large, immature swarms were first reported to have crossed into Kenya from Somalia, entering through the towns of Mandera and El Wak. [6] Heavy rains over the preceding short rain season (October–December) created an environment conducive to locust breeding, [25] and over the next two months the swarms spread and matured, infesting 21 counties by the end of February and reaching Kenya's borders with Uganda and Tanzania. [26] By then, the plague was Kenya's worst locust outbreak in over seventy years, affecting approximately 70,000 hectares (172,973 acres) of land, and leading the country's agriculture minister to state that authorities were unprepared for an infestation of such scale. [27] Over the next three months, particularly favourable rains caused locust swarms to migrate to the north-western counties of Kenya, [28] [29] and by mid-May, cumulative crop and pasture losses were estimated at between 5-15 percent in northern Kenya and 1-5 percent in south-eastern Kenya. [25]

However, low levels of rainfall in May, in conjunction with both new and continued ground and aerial pest control initiatives, led the locust population, which had been stagnant over the preceding two months, to decline, with reduced average swarm sizes and a less widespread distribution of locusts, which were, by then, primarily resident in the north-western counties of Turkana and Marsabit. [30] Continued low rainfall and the relative lack of greenery in north-western Kenya resulted in a progressive decline in both swarm size and overall population from June to September, resulting in reduced levels of locust maturation, which placed much of the remaining locust population in recession. [31] [32] As of October 2020, a few small (1–10 km2) swarms, slowly maturing at the border between the north-western counties of Baringo, Laikipia, and Samburu, were the only remaining gregarious locust populations in the country. [4]

Somalia

Somalia’s agriculture ministry called the outbreak a national emergency and major threat to the country’s fragile food security, saying the “uncommonly large” locust swarms are consuming huge amounts of crops. [27] Combating the crisis wasn't expected to be easy, especially in Somalia, where parts of the country are in the grip of the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group. [33] Desert locusts were breeding in the regions of Galmudug (Mudug), Puntland, and Somaliland. Over the next six months, projections indicated that more than 100 000 hectares of land would have required direct control interventions in Somalia. [34]

Eritrea

In swarms the size of major cities, the locusts had also affected various parts of Eritrea. The military and general public had been deployed to combat the crisis according to Eritrea's Agricultural Ministry. [27] In Eritrea, big swarms of immature adults that migrated from Ethiopia, were identified and controlled around Shieb, Gahtielay, Wengebo, and Beareze of the Northern Red Sea Coast. Moreover, the swarms of Tree Locust had been detected in Tserona, Mai-seraw, Quatit, and Digsa districts of Southern Eritrea. [34]

Ethiopia

The locusts also headed towards Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country, in that nation's worst outbreak in 25 years. Some residents were surprised to find the locusts inside their living rooms.

According to the Agriculture Ministry officials, the relatively few locusts that reached Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa were “leftovers” from the “massive invasion” in the eastern and southern parts of the country. Spraying was conducted around the city to stop the outbreak from spreading elsewhere. [27] Millions of people in this country already cope with the constant risk of drought or flooding, [35]

The desert locust infestation in Ethiopia has deteriorated, despite ongoing ground and aerial control operations. Hoppers have fledged, and an increasing number of small immature and mature swarms have continued to devour crop and pasture fields in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and Somali regional states. In Amhara, some farms have registered nearly 100 percent loss of teff, a staple crop in Ethiopia. Moreover, eggs are hatching profusely and forming hopper bands in the Somali region, due to the heavy rainfall.

Despite major control and prevention operations, substantial crop losses had already occurred in the Amhara and Tigray regions of Ethiopia. The hopper bands (young locust populations moving together) had covered nearly 430 square kilometres and had consumed about 1.3 million metric tonnes of vegetation over a two-month period. The formation of bands continued in the rangelands of the Ethiopian Somali Region; and massive new swarms were expected to arrive from Yemen and Somalia. A swarm even forced an Ethiopian passenger plane off course in December. [34]

Food ran out for the nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees in Tigray, which was partially caused by the Tigran War. [36]

Uganda

The locusts headed toward Uganda and fragile South Sudan, where almost half the country faces hunger as it emerges from civil war. Uganda has not had such an outbreak since the 1960s and was already on alert. [33] Uganda has not had to deal with a locust infestation since the ’60s so there was concern about the ability for experts on the ground to be able to deal with it without external support, That week, Uganda’s prime minister told agriculture authorities that “this is an emergency and all agencies must be on the alert,” the government-controlled New Vision newspaper reported. [35]

South Sudan

The locusts also headed towards South Sudan, where almost half the country faces hunger as it emerges from civil war. They have not had such an outbreak since the 1960s and was already on alert. [33] In a country like South Sudan, where already 47% of the population is food insecure the crisis was expected to cause devastating consequences. [35]

Djibouti

The Government of Djibouti estimates that the damage caused by the desert locust infestations on vegetation cover (crops and pastures) have already caused a loss of around US$5 million for the six regions of the country. [34] In Djibouti, it is estimated that over 1,700 agropastoral farms across the country and nearly 50,000 hectares of pastureland have been destroyed by the swarms. [24]

Burundi

The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have both stated that the phenomenally heavy rains have contributed to not only the devastating 2019 Burundi landslides, but also a "serious and widespread desert locust outbreak". The Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (the DLCO-EA which Burundi is not member of) noted the necessity for urgent and decisive action from all partners, as well as the resources to support large-scale ground surveys, aerial spraying services, provision of chemicals, information dissemination, and further capacity building for control operations.

Arabian Peninsula

Cyclones in May and October 2018 brought heavy rains that gave rise to favourable breeding conditions in the Empty Quarter of the southern Arabian Peninsula for at least nine months since June. Some countries like UAE and Iraq have seen small hopper groups but the situation is under control in these regions. [37]

Yemen

In January 2019 one of the first swarms reached Yemen and it became one of the first breeding grounds for the desert locusts and caused them to spread more.

Saudi Arabia

From January to June 2019 the locusts started to enter Saudi Arabia. They have so far tried a lot to control the locusts.

South and South-West Asia

After June 2019 swarms invaded the Indo-Pakistan border from Iran and up to three generations occurred due to longer than normal monsoons giving rise to large numbers of swarms.

Pakistan

Since June 2019, the locust outbreak had been impacting eastern Pakistan. [38] In November 2019, Karachi saw the first locust attack in the city since 1961. [39]

On 29 January 2020, the provincial Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government declared emergency in nine southern districts of the province to control the spread of locusts. The emergency was declared in Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Karak, Kohat, Hangu, North and South Waziristan districts. [40]

On 1 February 2020, the Pakistani government declared a national emergency to protect crops and help farmers. [41]

Iran

In Iran, as with the rest of the Asian countries, the locusts started arriving in the first six months of 2019. Heavy rains in southwest Iran exacerbated the situation. The control operations have been less successful in Yemen and Iran. [42]

India

The swarms in India came from Iran and Pakistan, but the situation has been brought under control with the help of pesticides and specialist equipment. Although the extent of the damage is to be assessed, there was no major loss. A number of timely measures and a change in wind direction had prevented a spread and large-scale damage to the rapeseed and cumin seed crops, the officials said. The outbreak began late 2019 in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Three villages in Gujarat's Banaskantha district, which shares a border with Pakistan's desert areas, came under fresh locust attacks in January (2020). In Gujarat, locust attacks in December(2019) damaged crops, mainly rapeseed and cumin seed, planted on about 17,000 hectares. Parts of western Rajasthan have destroyed crops spread over at least 350,000 hectares of land. The districts adversely affected by the large scale coordinated attacks by locusts include Sri Ganganagar, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Churu and Nagaur. India has been able to bring swarms of desert locusts under control in two key oilseed producing states. [43] [44]

In May, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, parts of India such as Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were severely affected by locust swarms measuring a kilometer wide, the worst locust attack in 27 years. [45] [46] On 27 June 2020, millions of locusts swarmed on a massive scale in Gurgaon, Delhi-NCR region, made look like a sand storm in the sky.

Nepal

Swarms of the locusts were reported to have entered Nepal in late June 2020, with damage to crops in Parbat Mahashila. [47]

South America

Argentina

On 17 June 2020, a swarm reached Argentina from Paraguay, reaching the Corrientes Province and by 22 June, it was making its way into the Entre Ríos Province, destroying corn and cassava crops along the way. [48]

Effects

Around 2.25m ha land had already been affected as of April 2020. About 70,000 hectares (172,973 acres) of land in Kenya alone were infested. [33] 20.2 million people are facing severe acute food insecurity in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. If left unchecked, the number of locusts could grow by 500 times by June 2020, when drier weather will help bring the outbreak under control. [27] 1 million ha of land has been targeted for rapid locust surveillance and control in the eight East African countries. 110,000 households have been targeted for rapid livelihoods protection in seven of the eight countries [49] “Effective control is estimated to be around $60m (£47m) but, if an upsurge occurs, the cost will soar to $500m.” [50]

WFP estimates that long-term response and recovery costs could top US$1billion if swarm growth is not controlled. The World Bank estimates that in Africa alone, more than 90 million hectares of cropland and pasture are at risk and damages and losses could amount to as much as US$9 billion in coming years. [51]

Preventive measures

FAO said containing the plague will cost at least $138 million. So far, donors have pledged $52 million as of April 2020, $10m of which has come from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Failure means more hunger in a region already battered by conflict and climate shocks. Aerial and ground spraying combined with constant tracking of the swarms are viewed as the most effective strategies. But the travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have hindered the preventive measures. [52]

In the winter breeding areas, control operations started in December 2018 in Eritrea and, to a lesser extent, in Sudan. They extended to Egypt and Saudi Arabia in January where they continued for several months before a further extension to spring breeding areas in Saudi Arabia (February–June), Iran (February–July) and Pakistan (March–July). Control operations were then undertaken in the summer breeding areas along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border (May–February), Ethiopia (August onwards) and Yemen (July onwards). During the winter of 2019/2020, control was carried out along both sides of the Red Sea (November–March), the Horn of Africa (December–present) and southern Iran (November onwards). About 2.25 Mha had been treated by February 2020. [53]

Man instructing a pesticide workshop in West Africa. Pesticide workshop in West Africa.jpg
Man instructing a pesticide workshop in West Africa.

As of April 2020 Ethiopia was using five planes and Kenya six planes for spraying and four planes for surveying. But the Kenyan government says it needs 20 planes for spraying - and a continuous supply of the pesticide Fenitrothion. Kenya has trained more than 240 personnel from affected counties in monitoring of locust swarms. To help prevent and control outbreaks, authorities analyze satellite images, stockpile pesticides and conduct aerial spraying. The U.N. has allocated $10 million for aerial spraying. [35]

At the Intergovernmental Authority on Development climate prediction and applications centre, based in Nairobi, researchers have been running a supercomputer model to predict breeding areas that may have been missed by ground monitoring. These areas could become sources of new swarms if not sprayed and create an upsurge. So if hoppers are stopped from adults this wouldn't lead to another cycle of infestation. The supercomputer, funded by £35m of UK aid as part of its Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa programme, has successfully forecast the movement of locusts using data such as wind speed and direction, temperature, and humidity. The model has achieved 90% accuracy in forecasting the future locations of the swarms.

Researchers are now inputting data on soil moisture and vegetation cover to help predict where eggs have been laid and are likely to hatch and thrive. This will then provide data on where African governments can direct their spraying efforts, helping to control the hoppers before they swarm. The Kenyan government is on high alert and effective control measures have been put in place. [50]

The Chinese government announced in February 2020 it was sending a team of experts to neighbouring Pakistan to develop "targeted programmes" against the locusts and deploy 100,000 ducks. [54]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locust</span> Grasshopper that has a swarming phase

Locusts are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they become more abundant and change their behaviour and habits, becoming gregarious. No taxonomic distinction is made between locust and grasshopper species; the basis for the definition is whether a species forms swarms under intermittently suitable conditions; this has evolved independently in multiple lineages, comprising at least 18 genera in 5 different acridid subfamilies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Africa</span> Eastern region of the African continent

East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert locust</span> Species of grasshopper

The desert locust is a species of locust, a periodically swarming, short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae. They are found primarily in the deserts and dry areas of northern and eastern Africa, Arabia, and southwest Asia. During population surge years, they may extend north into parts of western Spain and southern Italy, south into Eastern Africa, and east in northern India. The desert locust shows periodic changes in its body form and can change in response to environmental conditions, over several generations, from a solitary, shorter-winged, highly fecund, non-migratory form to a gregarious, long-winged, and migratory phase in which they may travel long distances into new areas. In some years, they may thus form locust plagues, invading new areas, where they may consume all vegetation including crops, and at other times, they may live unnoticed in small numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Migratory locust</span> Species of grasshopper

The migratory locust is the most widespread locust species, and the only species in the genus Locusta. It occurs throughout Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. It used to be common in Europe but has now become rare there. Because of the vast geographic area it occupies, which comprises many different ecological zones, numerous subspecies have been described. However, not all experts agree on the validity of some of these subspecies.

In 2004, West and North Africa experienced their largest infestation of desert locusts in more than 15 years. A number of countries in the fertile northern regions of Africa were affected.

In 2006, an acute shortage of food affected the countries in the Horn of Africa, as well as northeastern Kenya. The United Nations's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated on January 6, 2006, that more than 11 million people in these countries may be affected by an impending widespread famine, largely attributed to a severe drought, and exacerbated by military conflicts in the region.

Shinile is a woreda in Somali Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Sitti Zone, Shinile is bordered on the south by Dire Dawa, on the west by Erer, on the north by the Afar Region, on the east by Ayesha, and on the southeast by Dembel and Jijiga Zone. Towns in Shinile include Adigale, Harewa, Milo, and Shinile; villages include Jaldessa, Marmaarsa, Toome

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian plague locust</span> Species of grasshopper

The Australian plague locust is a native Australian insect in the family Acrididae, and a significant agricultural pest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall armyworm</span> Species of moth

The fall armyworm is a species in the order Lepidoptera and one of the species of the fall armyworm moths distinguished by their larval life stage. The term "armyworm" can refer to several species, often describing the large-scale invasive behavior of the species' larval stage. It is regarded as a pest and can damage and destroy a wide variety of crops, which causes large economic damage. Its scientific name derives from frugiperda, which is Latin for lost fruit, named because of the species' ability to destroy crops. Because of its propensity for destruction, the fall armyworm's habits and possibilities for crop protection have been studied in depth. It is also a notable case for studying sympatric speciation, as it appears to be diverging into two species currently. Another remarkable trait of the larva is that they consistently practice cannibalism, despite its fitness costs.

In 2012, Madagascar had an upsurge in the size of its Malagasy migratory locust populations. In November of that year, the government issued a locust alert, saying that conditions were right for swarming of the pest insects. In February 2013, Cyclone Haruna struck the country, creating optimal conditions for locust breeding. By late March 2013, approximately 50% of the country was infested by swarms of locusts, with each swarm consisting of more than one billion insects. The authorities changed the situation to plague status. According to one eyewitness: "You don't see anything except locusts. You turn around, there are locusts everywhere".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Basil Popov</span>

George Basil Popov MBE, was a Russian-British entomologist born in Iran, his father having been employed there by the Imperial Bank of Persia. Popov became an authority on the Desert locust.

<i>Locusta migratoria manilensis</i> Subspecies of locust

Locusta migratoria manilensis, commonly known as the Oriental migratory locust, is a subspecies of the migratory locust in the family Acrididae. It is sufficiently different in size and structure from the African migratory locust to be considered a distinct subspecies of the migratory locust. It is found in southeastern Asia and is an important agricultural pest in the region. It is normally a solitary insect but when conditions are suitable, it enters into a gregarious phase when the young form into bands which move together and the adults into swarms. Although outbreaks may have recently been fewer in number and size because of changes in agricultural practices and better locust detection, the insects remain active as crop pests and the potential for outbreaks is still present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African migratory locust</span> Subspecies of locust

Locusta migratoria migratorioides, commonly known as the African migratory locust, is a subspecies of the migratory locust family Acrididae.

The Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA) is "a regional pest and vector management organization established by an International Convention signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1962". The Desert Locust Control Organisation for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA) is a regional organization for integrated pest and vector management to ensure food security in Eastern Africa.

Long term aid to those in need creates a fear of having those provided with aid falling into the dependency theory. The rationale is that those who are benefiting will lose motivation to improve their lives on their own. Some may even work to worsen their condition in order to qualify for the aid. Additionally, one argument is that peripheral countries, such as Ethiopia, will not move out of needing aid because of the advanced economy's control. On average, Ethiopia has received 700,000 tons of food aid per year for the past 15 years. In rural Ethiopia, food aid has been provided for over three decades.

The following lists events that happened during 2020 in East Africa. The countries listed are those described in the United Nations geoscheme for East Africa: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Réunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Events of 2020 in Ethiopia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food security during the COVID-19 pandemic</span> Famines related to the pandemic caused by coronavirus disease 2019.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity has intensified in many places – in the second quarter of 2020 there were multiple warnings of famine later in the year. In an early report, the Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) Oxfam-International talks about "economic devastation" while the lead-author of the UNU-WIDER report compared COVID-19 to a "poverty tsunami". Others talk about "complete destitution", "unprecedented crisis", "natural disaster", "threat of catastrophic global famine". The decision of WHO on March 11, 2020 to qualify COVID as a pandemic, that is "an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people" also contributed to building this global-scale disaster narrative.

Locusts (Slaha/सलह) have been infesting Nepal from time to time. In general, locusts enter Nepal via India. The locust infestations typically have a profound impact on food security in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Famine in northern Ethiopia (2020–present)</span> A humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia resulting from the Tigray War

Beginning with the onset of the Tigray War in November 2020, acute food shortages leading to death and starvation became widespread in northern Ethiopia, and the Tigray, Afar and Amhara Regions in particular. As of August 2022, there are 13 million people facing acute food insecurity, and an estimated 150,000–200,000 had died of starvation by March 2022. In the Tigray Region alone, 89% of people are in need of food aid, with those facing severe hunger reaching up to 47%. In a report published in June 2021, over 350,000 people were already experiencing catastrophic famine conditions. It is the worst famine to happen in East Africa since 2011–2012.

References

  1. ↑ "Horn of Africa: Locust Infestation - Oct 2019". ReliefWeb. Retrieved Feb 5, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Desert Locust situation update". fao.org. FAO. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  3. ↑ "The locust crisis: The World Bank's response - World". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  4. 1 2 3 "Desert Locust Bulletin - General situation during October 2020" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. 1 2 3 "Central & Eastern region outbreaks (May 2018 to present)". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  6. 1 2 "Desert Locust Bulletin - General situation during December 2019" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization. 6 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "Nuvem de gafanhotos na Argentina deixa fronteira com Brasil em alerta". R7.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  8. ↑ "Alarm as coronavirus curbs disrupt East Africa fight on locusts". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  9. ↑ "Real-time evaluation of FAO's response to desert locust upsurge". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  10. ↑ "Desert Locust upsurge (2019–2021)". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  11. 1 2 "The Terrifying Science Behind the Locust Plagues of Africa". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  12. ↑ Anstey, Michael L.; Rogers, Stephen M.; Ott, Swidbert R.; Burrows, Malcolm; Simpson, Stephen J. (2009-01-30). "Serotonin Mediates Behavioral Gregarization Underlying Swarm Formation in Desert Locusts". Science. 323 (5914): 627–630. Bibcode:2009Sci...323..627A. doi:10.1126/science.1165939. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   19179529. S2CID   5448884.
  13. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about locusts". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  14. ↑ Ott, Swidbert R.; Rogers, Stephen M. (2010-10-22). "Gregarious desert locusts have substantially larger brains with altered proportions compared with the solitarious phase". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 277 (1697): 3087–3096. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.0694. PMC   2982065 . PMID   20507896.
  15. 1 2 "A plague of locusts has descended on East Africa. Climate change may be to blame". Science. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  16. ↑ "Locust crisis poses a danger to millions, forecasters warn". the Guardian. 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  17. 1 2 "A plague of locusts has descended on East Africa. Climate change may be to blame". Science. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  18. ↑ Ahmed, Kaamil (2020-03-20). "Locust crisis poses a danger to millions, forecasters warn". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  19. ↑ "Tropical Storm Update! - Issued 07 December 2019 - Somalia". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  20. ↑ "Horn of Africa: Locust Infestation - Oct 2019". ReliefWeb.
  21. ↑ "Africa's Worst Locust Plague in Decades Threatens Millions". The Wall Street Journal. 31 January 2020.
  22. ↑ Stone, Madeleine (2020-02-14). "A plague of locusts has descended on East Africa. Climate change may be to blame". National Geographic. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  23. ↑ Ahmed, Kaamil (2020-03-20). "Locust crisis poses a danger to millions, forecasters warn". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  24. 1 2 "The locust plague: Fighting a crisis within a crisis". blogs.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  25. 1 2 "Kenya Situation Report, 14 May 2020" (PDF). ReliefWeb . United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  26. ↑ "Desert Locust Bulletin - General situation during February 2020" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 "Spray planes combat the huge locust outbreak in East Africa". AP NEWS. 2020-02-02. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  28. ↑ "Desert Locust Bulletin - General situation during March 2020" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  29. ↑ "Desert Locust Bulletin - General situation during April 2020" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization. 4 May 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  30. ↑ "Desert Locust Bulletin - General situation during May 2020" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  31. ↑ "Desert Locust Bulletin - General situation during June 2020" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  32. ↑ "Desert Locust Bulletin - General situation during September 2020" (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  33. 1 2 3 4 "'This is huge': Locust swarms in Africa are worst in decades". AP NEWS. 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  34. 1 2 3 4 "Horn of Africa: Locust Infestation - Oct 2019". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  35. 1 2 3 4 "AP Explains: How climate change feeds Africa locust invasion". AP NEWS. 2020-01-23. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  36. ↑ "More than a million displaced in Tigray as Ethiopian PM warns of 'final' offensive against region". France 24. 26 November 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-11-26. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  37. ↑ "Desert Locust situation update 4 May 2020". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  38. ↑ "Food security fears as locusts destroy crops in Pakistan's worst plague since the 1990s". The Telegraph. 18 Nov 2019.
  39. ↑ "As swarms of desert locust descend upon Karachi, ministry says species pose no risk to food supply". Dawn. 11 November 2019.
  40. ↑ "Emergency declared in nine districts after Dera locust attack". Dawn. 30 Jan 2020.
  41. ↑ "Pakistan declares national emergency over locust swarms". Deutsche Welle. 2 Feb 2020.
  42. ↑ "Current upsurge (2019–2020)". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  43. ↑ Dev Ankur Wadhawan (January 20, 2020). "Locusts' attack in western Rajasthan leaves farmers high and dry, ruin lakhs of hectares of crops". India Today. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  44. ↑ "How India saved itself from desert locust invasion on crops". India Today. Reuters. January 22, 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  45. ↑ Biswas, Soutik (2020-05-26). "India combats locust attack amid Covid-19 pandemic". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  46. ↑ "Crops destroyed as India faces 'worst locust attack in 27 years'". Al Jazeera. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  47. ↑ "Locusts damage crops in Chitwan, but spare Rupandehi". GorakhaPatra. Retrieved Feb 5, 2021.
  48. ↑ "Nuvem de gafanhotos destrói lavoura de milho na Argentina e pode chegar ao Brasil". Canal Rural (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  49. ↑ "Desert Locust Crisis: Appeal for Rapid Response and Anticipatory Action in the Greater Horn of Africa (January–December 2020) - Ethiopia". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  50. 1 2 McVeigh, Karen (2020-03-04). "Scientists turn to tech to prevent second wave of locusts in east Africa". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  51. ↑ "The Desert Locust Crisis and the World Bank Group". World Bank. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  52. ↑ "The Terrifying Science Behind the Locust Plagues of Africa". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  53. ↑ "Desert Locust upsurge in 2019–2020". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  54. ↑ "In pictures: Locust swarms in East Africa". BBC News. 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.