Environment

Locusts Swarming Across Northern Argentina

Argentina’s worst locust swarms since 1954 are threatening to devour crops in three northern provinces.

The insects first appeared last June, when a mild and wet southern winter allowed the swarms to spread to Catamarca, Santiago del Estero and Córdoba provinces.

Farmers complain they had to fight the infestations on their own until the swarms grew so large that the government finally stepped in.

The agricultural inspection agency Senasa says that if they fail to eradicate the pests before the insects develop into flying swarms in early February, the locusts could devour crops like sunflowers and cotton, as well as grasslands for grazing cattle.

Environment

North Africa-Arabian Peninsula Brace for Locust Swarms

The Arabian Peninsula and parts of northeastern Africa are threatened with plagues of desert locusts because of unusually heavy rains brought on during recent weeks by two freak tropical cyclones and the intensifying El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific.

The Food and Agriculture Organization warned that the extreme weather conditions have moistened the soil around Yemen and the Horn of Africa, providing a favorable environment for locusts to lay their eggs.

Sprouting vegetation during the remainder of this year in the typically arid region is likely to provide food and shelter for the emerging young locusts.

The United Nations agency cautioned that two generations of the ravenous insects could swarm through the end of 2015 in coastal areas of Sudan, northern Eritrea, southeastern Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Wildlife

Locusts Invasions in Central and Southern Madagascar

Swarms of locusts have invaded Madagascar. The central and southern regions are the most affected, hampering the already fragile recovery efforts from the effects of cyclone “Haruna” in February 2013.

This invasion by the locusts has brought about a new humanitarian crisis in the country. Over 60% of the country is currently infested and the locust infestations, if untreated, could wipe out food crops and livestock grazing lands – and with it the family’s ability to provide for itself.

The government has no funds, no pesticides and no equipment to spray pesticides, even if they had them.

Plague

Good rains and the resultant growth of vegetation in the Sahara have led to an increase in locust populations. Farmers in Niger and Mali are at high risk from large locust swarms that are moving southward from Algeria and Libya. The ravenous insects can decimate the food crops of entire communities.