Second Wave Of Locusts Could Hit One-Third Of World's Nations

Second Wave Of Locusts Coming

Swarm can eat as much in a day as 35,000 people can eat

When billions of locusts stripped hundreds of square miles of African croplands a few weeks ago, there were warnings it might get worse.

Now, a second wave is about to descend that has the potential to damage the food and economic security of a tenth of the world's population.

The worldwide Christian charity Barnabas Fund noted the desert locust is considered the most dangerous migratory pest on earth.

"A swarm of only one square kilometer will eat as much as 35,000 people can eat in one day. In times of plague, desert locusts can spread across around 29 million square kilometer – extending to around 60 countries – or more than 20% of the total land surface of the planet," Barnabas Fund said.

"Many thousands of people were already in the grip of food shortages, due to either drought or flooding in the last twelve months, before the crop destruction caused by a first wave of vast swarms of desert locusts in East Africa and Pakistan earlier this year," the report said.

And this time around, it could be 400 times worse. The United Nations estimates 20 million are facing the threat of severe "food insecurity."

The breeding activity for desert locusts in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia is threatening "millions."

"Crops are due to be harvested in the next few weeks, but already in Uganda, "the government has warned the country to prepare for impending double disaster as unusually heavy seasonal rains are expected." A Christian leader explained to Barnabas that the severe rains will increase the risks of a locust plague.

Normally, the locusts are in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, an area of about 16 million square kilometers.

"A second wave of this year’s devastating locust outbreak is under way in summer breeding grounds in East Africa, parts of the Middle East and south-west Asia. Breeding conditions for the locusts have remained highly favorable since February along both Red Sea coasts and in East Africa. Heavy rains fell in southern Iran spurring egg laying. Western Africa, where dry conditions have dominated, remains largely unaffected by the locust swarms," the report said.

And similar breeding patterns have been found in Ethiopia, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE.

The report noted the only effective means to battle the plague is aerial insecticide spraying, mainly with organophosphate chemicals. But the cost, at least $60 million, is unworkable for some nations.

Plague of locusts set to descend upon Middle East in time for Passover

A plague of locusts the likes of which have been unseen for over 30 years is about to hit Africa and the Middle East. Adding to the perfect biblical storm, the current coronavirus pandemic is affecting travel of international experts and in-country gatherings for training to combat the locust threat, said Rome-based Senior Locust Forecasting Officer Keith Cressman on Monday.

Cressman works at Locust Watch, a division of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, which gives emergency assistance to countries facing desert locust invasions and constantly monitors the status of potential infestations. According to the organization’s most recent forecast report, there are new “extremely alarming” swarms forming in Horn of Africa.

Cressman, who has worked with the organization for over three decades, told The Times of Israel on Monday that the previous time the region has been in such danger was during the plague of 1987-1989.

Institutional memory, as well as Cressman’s experience, points to a very difficult year on the horizon: “Starting in early 2020, the global Desert Locust situation deteriorated, as favorable climatic conditions allowed widespread breeding of the pest in East Africa, Southwest Asia, and the area around the Red Sea,” writes the website.

It appears that the hardest hit countries will include Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Iran, Pakistan, and Sudan, the last of which will likely be affected later this summer, said Cressman.

“It is always very difficult to find and treat all infestations, and this is the nature and challenge of managing Desert Locust,” he said in an email to The Times of Israel. The inability to travel due to coronavirus restrictions may prevent proper, timely treatment.