Climate change linked to African locust invasion

(Reuters News, 29 Jan 2020) Hundreds of millions of the insects have swept over the Horn of Africa in the worst outbreak in a quarter of a century, says the United Nations.

Climate change may be powering the swarms of desert locusts that have invaded eastern Africa, ravaging crops, decimating pasture and deepening a hunger crisis, locust and climate experts said.

Hundreds of millions of the insects have swept over the Horn of Africa in the worst outbreak in a quarter of a century, says the United Nations.

By June, the fast-breeding locusts - already devouring huge swathes of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia - could grow by 500 times and move into Uganda and South Sudan.

The hungry swarms threaten to exacerbate food insecurity in a region where up to 25 million people are reeling from three consecutive years of droughts and floods, say aid agencies.

Keith Cressman, senior locust forecasting officer at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), said the swarms formed after cyclones dumped vast amounts of rain in the deserts of Oman - creating perfect breeding conditions.

"We know that cyclones are the originators of swarms - and in the past 10 years, there's been an increase in the frequency of cyclones in the Indian Ocean," said Cressman, adding that there were two cyclones in 2018 and eight in 2019.

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Reuters News, 29 Jan 2020: Climate change linked to African locust invasion