Science Alert July 3, 2020
Swarming in the trillions, voracious insects are destroying precious pastures and crops in what is considered the worst regional locust plague in decades, from Kenya through Ethiopia and Yemen, reaching as far as parts of northern India. According to researchers in Kenya and Germany the first major swarms emerged late last year, after unusually warm and wet weather, and they numbered in the hundreds of billions. Come April, the next generation hit the skies, this time in the trillions. The third generation is expected to take off this July in even larger numbers. Treating huge swathes of land with pesticides is terrible for biodiversity, and other animals and insects like bees. Experts suspect this event might also be linked to climate change…read more.
Locust forecast in the summer of 2020. Credit: FAO