Swarms of desert locust invaded Pakistan in April, however the situation has turned devasting in the recent week.
The locust are believed to have originated in Africa and are highly destructive.
Authorities have begun dispatching aircraft and spraying machines filled with pesticides mounted on vehicles to eliminate the insects, according to local media reports.
- The insects have destroyed crops in eastern Punjab, southern Sindh and southwestern Baluchistan provinces.
- Crops in the northwest bordering Afghanistan have also been hit.
- In India, Gujarat and Rajasthan states bordering Pakistan have also been affected.
- Locust are not a new phenomenon, but what is different this year is the size of the swarm.
Forewarned…
- In February this year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations had warned about the “threat” of hatching and band formation of locusts in southern Iran and southwest Pakistan.
- The UN had predicted this could jeopardize farmlands across southwest Asia, including western India.
- A second wave of locusts, expected this summer, is projected to be 20 times more damaging than the first one.
- The UN estimates its size to be around 1.9 trillion locusts.
