As if 2020 hasn’t thrown enough curveballs already, desert locusts are setting off a global panic. From Kenya to Pakistan to, most recently, Argentina, locust swarms have been on the move. The infestation is most advanced in East Africa, which is experiencing the worst locust outbreak in generations.
There’ve been six major locust plagues in the last century, one of which lasted nearly 13 years, according to the U.N. But the current infestation in East Africa is technically an upsurge, as defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Depending on locust control efforts and favorable breeding conditions in terms of moisture and soil, the upsurge could spread even further and get upgraded to a plague.
A locust can eat about 2 grams of food in a day. So, a New York City-sized swarm can devour the same amount of food consumed in a day by everyone in New York and California combined, presenting a serious problem: Nearly 5 million people in East Africa could face starvation this summer. The risk of a hunger crisis comes as several affected countries already struggle to deal with supply chains disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. -Full Report
