Locusts threaten dire consequences for global food chain
Climate change could trigger giant swarms of locusts, which the UN has called “the world's most destructive migratory pest,” a study warns. Strong winds and rain could lead to larger outbreaks of desert locusts — with devastating consequences for the global food chain.
Experts from the National University of Singapore say strong winds and rain could lead to larger outbreaks of desert locusts, and human-caused climate change is likely to worsen weather conditions and increase the risk of such outbreaks, writes the Daily Mail.
Causes The concern is that researchers warn these processes could have a devastating impact on the global food chain.
«Failure to address these risks could further strain food production systems and worsen global food insecurity,» said Xiaogang He, author of the study.
As the Daily Mail explains, the desert locust is a migratory insect that travels in swarms of millions over long distances and damages crops, causing hunger and food insecurity.
A swarm covering an area of 80 million square kilometers, which in one day day could destroy enough food crops to feed 35,000 people.
The study, published in the journal Science Advances, says these outbreaks will become «increasingly difficult to prevent and control» in a warming climate.
To assess the risk of locust outbreaks in Africa and the Middle East and the link to climate change , scientists analyzed desert locust outbreaks from 1985 to 2020 using the Food and Agriculture Organization's Locust Hub data collection tool.
The researchers created and used a data-driven system to study insect behavior to find out what might cause outbreaks over long distances. They found that 10 countries, including Kenya, Morocco, Niger, Yemen and Pakistan, experienced the most locust outbreaks among the 48 affected countries.
The worst desert locust outbreak in 25 years hit East Africa in 2019 and 2020 years when insects devastated hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland and damaged crops, trees and other vegetation, affecting food security and livelihoods.
Researchers also found a strong connection between the size of desert locust outbreaks and land-based weather conditions, such as air temperature, precipitation, soil moisture and wind.
Desert locusts are more likely to infest dry areas that experience sudden extreme precipitation events , and weather conditions greatly influence insect numbers during an outbreak.
El Niño, a recurring natural climate phenomenon that influences weather around the world, is also closely linked to larger and worsening desert locust outbreaks.
University of Delaware entomology professor Douglas Tallamy, who was not involved in the study, said that erratic weather and rainfall causes vegetation surges and hence contributes to a huge increase in locust populations.
«As such variability increases, it is logical to predict that locust outbreaks will also increase,» he said. >
The study found that particularly vulnerable areas such as Morocco and Kenya remain at high risk, but locust habitats have expanded since 1985 and their numbers are predicted to continue to increase by at least five percent by the end of the 21st century, as expected in Western India and western Central Asia.
The study cites the example of the Rub al-Khali, or Empty Quarter, a desert in the southern Arabian Peninsula, as a location that has historically been rare for desert locust outbreaks, but then became a hot spot.
In 2019, the desert experienced locust outbreaks after uncontrolled breeding following cyclones that filled the desert with freshwater lakes.
Large locust outbreaks can have huge financial consequences. According to the World Bank, responding to a locust outbreak that occurred in West Africa between 2003 and 2005 cost more than $450 million.
It said the outbreak caused about 2 .5 billion dollars.