{"id":163035,"date":"2020-06-22T12:00:21","date_gmt":"2020-06-22T11:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=163035"},"modified":"2024-09-23T14:39:24","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T13:39:24","slug":"rolling-emergency-of-locust-swarms-decimating-africa-asia-and-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/06\/rolling-emergency-of-locust-swarms-decimating-africa-asia-and-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Rolling Emergency\u2019 of Locust Swarms Decimating Africa, Asia and Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"

8 Jun 2020 –Unseasonal rains have allowed desert pests to breed rapidly and spread across vast distances leaving devastation in their wake.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\"A <\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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A farmer\u2019s daughter waves her shawl to chase away swarms of desert locusts in Katitika village, Kitui county, Kenya. Photograph: Ben Curtis\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/header>\n
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Locust swarms threaten a \u201crolling emergency\u201d that could endanger harvests and food security across parts of Africa<\/a> and Asia for the rest of the year, experts warn.<\/p>\n

An initial infestation of locusts in December was expected to die out during the current dry season. But unseasonal rains have allowed several generations of locust to breed, resulting in new swarms forming.<\/p>\n

Huge swarms of locusts have been causing devastation across swathes of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Erratic weather conditions and storms have aided their path. As a result, countries have been battling the pests for months to avoid a hunger crisis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Desert locusts, which live in areas between west Africa and India<\/a>, cause the most devastation and like to breed in moist conditions. These locusts live for three months. Eggs hatch two weeks after they have been laid, and hoppers become adults after about six weeks.<\/p>\n