Wildlife

Madagascar Hit By 'Severe' Plague Of Locusts

A severe plague of locusts has infested about half of Madagascar, threatening crops and raising concerns about food shortages. Billions of the plant-devouring insects could cause hunger for 60% of the population.

Currently, about half the country is infested by hoppers and flying swarms - each swarm made up of billions of plant-devouring insects. About two-thirds of the island country will be affected by the locust plague by September 2013 if no action is taken.

Environment

Swarms of desert locusts that began appearing over the past few months in parts of Mali are threatening to spread northward into Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Mauritania. The swarms are believed to have initially emerged last year in the Libyan conflict zone, fed by abundant rainfall and unusually lush and moist conditions during the past summer.

The insects can consume more than their own weight in vegetation each day, and can ravage crops and pastures within hours.

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The week's hottest temperature was 111.7 degrees Fahrenheit (44.2 degrees Celsius) at Tarcoola, South Australia.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 69.3 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.3 degrees Celsius) at Russia's Vostok Antarctic research station.

Storms and Floods

Tropical Storms Kirk and Leslie in the Atlantic are not expected to impact on land at this stage.

Tropical Storm Ileana remains far off Baja California and is also not expected to make landfall.

Flooding in northern Cameroon kills at least 14 people, displacing 22 000.

Flooding and locust swarms in Chad add to the region's food crisis.