Cover news reporter Yan Lei compiled
According to Russia Today, on February 11, a United Nations locust monitor said that around the spring and summer of this year, a large number of locusts may appear on the border between India and Pakistan , and this unprecedented locust disaster It has already affected the African continent.
reported that the huge desert locusts not only frightened residents in Yemenand Saudi Arabia, but also wreaked havoc in some countries in the Horn of Africa. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) stated that this locust plague is the most serious in East Africa in 25 years, especially in Kenya. It is the most serious locust plague that the country has faced in 70 years.
On Monday local time, Keith Cressman, a senior locust forecasting officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, said that after doubling in size in the Horn of Africa, locust swarms may migrate to India and Pakistan, where they may compete with those just arriving from The locusts hatching in the south of Iran launched a double attack together.
Cressman said, "Beginning in mid-May and ending sometime in July, these locusts are likely to move from the Horn of Africa, arriving in anticipation of monsoon rains in the Indian states of Rajasthan and Pakistan's Cholistan Tharparkar region. There."
Cressman said that the worst-case scenario is that Iran may enter the locust breeding season early due to the warm climate and abundant rain. Conditions in the Horn of Africa currently favor rapid reproduction of the pest, which contributes to the persistent infestation in the first place. If the climate and rain continue to be good for these insects, they are likely to migrate to India and Pakistan this year, something that has not happened in quite some time.
He said, "This is because there are currently large concentrations of locusts in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, and the number of locusts is likely to increase further from now to June, thereby increasing the number of locusts to 400 times the current level."
2019 , Iranian locusts attacked Pakistan and India. Cressman expressed the hope that these two countries are better prepared than countries such as Somalia, Mali, or Ethiopia to deal with the swarm of locusts.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said that African countries lack security measures and funds to control this locust plague, which may soon severely affect South Sudan , Uganda and Tanzania . The region already suffers from food insecurity, so the crisis could lead to a more severe famine.
It is reported that desert locusts are one of the most dangerous pests. An adult locust weighing 2 grams can eat the equivalent of its body weight in food in a day, and a swarm usually consists of tens of millions of locusts. In addition, after eating crops, they can fly 150 kilometers in a day.
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