Changing climate ‘worsens Somalian locust plague’

The United Nations suggested unseasonably heavy rainfall and floods in the region were causing the locusts to stay in one place, meaning they are likely to breed again

The changing climate has been blamed for worsening the effects of a plague of locusts in Somalia.

In what is said to be the worst swarm in 25 years, millions of desert locusts have destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of crops and grazing land across the country.

Warning the infestation of insects is likely to spread further, The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggested unseasonably heavy rainfall and floods in the region were causing the locusts to stay in one place, meaning they are likely to breed again.

The FAO noted an average swarm is able to destroy crops that could have fed 2,500 people for a year.

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