New, Larger Wave Of Locusts Threatens Millions In Africa
Apr 10, 2020, 3:44 PM
FILE: Uganda People's Defence Force soldiers open a container holding Desert Locusts they have caught on February 12, 2020 in Katakwi, Uganda. Uganda has deployed soldiers to help combat one of the worst locust infestations in the region for decades. The UN warned that locusts can put crop production, food security and millions of lives at risk. The insects have already destroyed crops in Kenya in the country’s worst infestation for 70 years. The swarms also pose a threat to other countries in the region, including Ethiopia and Somalia. (Photo by Luke Dray/Getty Images)
(Photo by Luke Dray/Getty Images)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The second wave of a huge locust outbreak is arriving in parts of East Africa. This wave of the voracious insects is estimated to be 20 times the size of the first.
Billions of the young desert locusts are winging in from breeding grounds in Somalia in search of fresh vegetation springing up with seasonal rains.
Millions of already vulnerable people are at risk, and as they gather to try to combat the locusts, they risk spreading the coronavirus.
Some say the virus comes a distant second to the locusts in their concerns.
