Some parts of Africa are experiencing their worst locust invasion in 70 years. APExplains looks at whether climate change is to blame and what can be done.
In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, a Samburu boy uses a wooden stick to try to swat a swarm of desert locusts filling the air, as he herds his camel near the village of Sissia, in Samburu county, Kenya. The most serious outbreak of desert locusts in 25 years is spreading across East Africa and posing an unprecedented threat to food security in some of the world's most vulnerable countries, authorities say, with unusual climate conditions partly to blame.
The swarms of desert locusts hang like shimmering dark clouds on the horizon as they scour the countryside in what are already some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, including Somalia. Roughly the length of a finger, the whirring insects in huge numbers have destroyed hundreds of square kilometers of vegetation and forced people in some areas to bodily wade through them.
“These things here, they came to us from Ethiopia and are destroying everything along the way including our farm,” said Esther Ndanu in the Kenyan village of Ngomeni. “We want the government to move very quickly to bring the plane to spray them with the medicine that can kill them, otherwise they will destroy everything.”An “extremely dangerous increase” in locust swarm activity has been reported in Kenya, East Africa’s economic hub, regional authorities reported last week.
Now South Sudan, struggling to emerge from a civil war, and Uganda are bracing for the locusts’ arrival. Heavy rainfall and warmer temperatures are favorable conditions for locust breeding and in this case the conditions have become “exceptional,” he said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Unlocking the massive mobile market in Africa - CNN VideoMobile phone ownership is growing across Africa, and the companies who make smartphones are taking note. CNN's EleniGiokos sits down with Mara Group CEO Ashish J. Thakkar to discuss his company's approach to unlocking the massive mobile market potential.
Read more »
Maltreated tigers and lions, rescued from Guatemala circuses, arrive in South AfricaTwenty-one lions and tigers rescued from Guatemala arrived at a wildlife sanctua...
Read more »
Joan Smalls Talks Africa Trip at Elie SaabMolly Sims, Sonam Kapoor, Larsen Thompson, Marina Hands and Audrey Dana also took in the show.
Read more »
There’s Nothing ‘Romantic’ Between A$AP Rocky and RihannaRihanna and A$AP Rocky have been spending time together since her breakup from Hassan Jameel, but there’s nothing ‘romantic’ between them — read the exclusive.
Read more »
Maltreated tigers and lions, rescued from Guatemala circuses, arrive in South AfricaTwenty-one lions and tigers rescued from Guatemala arrived at a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa on Tuesday after an animal conservation and protection group said they endured years of severe confinement and maltreatment. The team from Animal Defenders International plucked the big cats from circuses
Read more »