Locust attacks in India have wreaked havoc over farmlands, particularly the ones in Gujarat and Rajasthan that have suffered a damage of 1.7 lakh hectares. As per experts, this attack is an indirect result of Climate Change. Punjab and Haryana have also seen adult locust groups, but crop damage has not been reported.
As per a desert locust expert, after Cyclone Mekunu in 2018 summers hit the middle east, rainwater was collected in parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Due to this, breeding grounds were created for desert locusts.
In 2018 itself during the month of October, Cyclone Luban had affected Arabian Peninsula, thus more favourable conditions were created.
Thereafter, the locusts started to fly towards India and Pakistan looking for food. Locust invasions in general are not an abnormal situation but the current attack is plague like wherein Pakistan has already declared it as a national emergency.
Another group of locusts from the middle east have gone to Africa, which has furthermore triggered fear of food crisis there. Usually, locusts retreat by November, but this time, the Rajasthan region of Thar desert has seen unseasonal rains, causing breeding grounds for locusts.
Climate change has turned deserts into watery landscapes. In fact, lizards, whose food is locust, are not found in desert areas in large numbers now.
Image Credit: outlook