While the eyes of the world are on the novel coronavirus, East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Southwest Asia and Pakistan continues to struggle with another crisis of biblical proportions: growing swarms of ravenous locusts. Both crises are extraordinary in scale, and both foes multiply so quickly that governments are struggling to contain them. Torrential rain is causing a dramatic increase in locust numbers in East Africa, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen.
On January the 11th, 2019, the holiest site in Islam was swarmed by a plague of locusts, forcing cleaners into action to drive the insects out. The Great Mosque in Mecca, which hosts millions of Muslim pilgrims every year and is the holiest site in Islam was the birthplace of a plague which in just over 12 months would grow into billions, stretching from the western border of China sweeping through Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, through Arabia the Middle East, northern Africa and all the way down to Southern Africa. TBW. The numbers and size of the plagues are unfathomable, we are talking billions of the most ravenous beast known to man, just a small swarm can eat enough food to feed a city of 35,000 people. These swarms are currently invading the poorest and most food-insecure people on the planet and the swarms are expected to increase 5 fold by June.
Swarms have matured in East Africa after widespread rains that fell in late March are expected to cause a dramatic increase in locust numbers in the coming months.
EAST AFRICA The current situation in East Africa remains extremely alarming as more swarms form and mature in northern and central Kenya, southern Ethiopia and probably in Somalia. This represents an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods because it coincides with the beginning of the long rains and the planting season. Although ground and aerial control operations are in progress, widespread rains that fell in late March and early April will allow the new swarms to mostly stay in place, mature and lay eggs while a few swarms could move from Kenya to Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia. During May, the eggs will hatch into hopper bands that will form new swarms in late June and July, which coincides with the start of the harvest.
● KENYA. More swarms are maturing and increasing in size in central and northern areas with some moving westwards; egg-laying is imminent.
● ETHIOPIA. Hopper bands and an increasing number of swarms are maturing in the south (SNNPR, Oromia); new swarms appeared in northern and southern Somali region.
● SOUTH SUDAN. A maturing swarm arrived in Magwi County on 8 April from Uganda.
ARABIAN PENINSULA The situation in Yemen continues and is likely to be deteriorating but no new information has been received and torrential rainfall is favouring the swarms.
● SAUDI ARABIA. Control continues against early and mid-instar bands near the Persian Gulf.
● OMAN. Late instar hopper groups, bands and a few small swarms seen laying eggs near UAE; control underway.
SOUTHWEST ASIA Spring breeding is underway. The situation in Iran continues to be serious and worrisome.
● IRAN. An increasing number of hopper bands continue to form along with the southern coast; a few swarms near Jask.
● PAKISTAN. Control continues against hopper groups in Baluchistan, Punjab, and near the Indian border; more adult groups forming in Baluchistan. Fao
Timeline
2018
● Cyclones in May and October brought heavy rains that gave rise to favourable breeding conditions in the Empty Quarter of the southern Arabian Peninsula for at least nine months since June 2018.
● As a result, three generations of breeding occurred that was undetected and not controlled.
2019
● JANUARY: The first swarms hit Yemen and Saudi Arabia, reaching southwest Iran where heavy rains fell, helping the swarms to breed.
● FEBRUARY-JUNE: widespread spring breeding in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iran caused large numbers of swarms to form. Control operations were less successful in Iran and Yemen.
● JUNE-DECEMBER: swarms invade the Indo-Pakistan border from Iran and up to three generations occur due to longer than normal monsoon, giving rise to large numbers of swarms; In Yemen, swarms form and move to N Somalia and Ethiopia where breeding occurs and more swarms form.
● OCTOBER-DECEMBER: Swarms move from Ethiopia and N Somalia to Eritrea, Djibouti, E Ethiopia, the Ogaden, C and S Somalia to reach NE Kenya; hopper bands and swarms form along with parts of the Red Sea coastal plains in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea and Sudan.
2020
● JANUARY: Swarms continue to invade, spread, mature and lay eggs in Ethiopia and Kenya. Hatching occurs in NE Somalia. Other swarms move into the interior of Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
● FEBRUARY: Swarms continue in Kenya, a few reach Uganda and South Sudan, groups reach Tanzania. Widespread hatching and bands in Kenya. Other swarms reach both sides of the Persian Gulf.
● MARCH: widespread hatching causes a new generation of swarms to form in Ethiopia and Kenya. A few swarms invade Uganda and South Sudan. Widespread swarm laying and hatching in southern Iran.
2020 Locust Plague
Front Page Headlines
You start off the article with an unproven point as if it is fact! Your claim that climate change(man made global warming) is the cause of the locusts outbreaks. Utter nonsense!
ReplyDeleteClimate change, climate change--how I hate those words! It's solar system change, universe change! The entire solar system is moving into a new neighborhood. The poles are shifting, there is incoming debris and a lot more. And mankind can't do a d*mn thing about it.
ReplyDeleteIs the climate changing? YES! And so is everything else. These fools in the Climate, cow fart game will be swept away with the rest.
One must distinguish between local and/or regional alterations, for example changes to the jet stream patterns over North America in winter, and the much broader rubric of ‘climate change ‘ which is an over used shorthand term used to allege cause when cause is unclear.
ReplyDeleteWhy oh why are you all against climate change when it is happening right under your nose, the climate is changing, warming, worldwide, I don't know why its happening no one does, except Hawkeye but it is, pleaaaaase show me a good argument as to why the world is not warming.
ReplyDeleteAgainst irrational terrorism about the changes nature. There have been demonstrated severe changes since the earth first cooled and there is not enough money in the universe to change that. Clean air and water is a separate issue that we CAN work on.
DeleteThe climate change you have been told is happening is not what is happening. Climate change happens as part of the cycle of the planet. Eg, Egypt wasn't always a desert. WE as human beings have just helped to speed up the process.
DeleteMaybe it’s time to start collecting these creatures to make nutritious food
ReplyDeleteThey are not tasty. The desert locust is unpalatable to animals that normally eat grasshoppers. No thanks.
DeleteTime to start collecting these creatures to make nutritious food
ReplyDeleteGary, the Earth has gotten warmer, then colder, then warmer, then colder for millions of years. Man is NOT the cause, that is the main point. The SUN is the primary cause, as are volcanic emissions and a host of other factors that have affected our climate for millions of years before men were here.
ReplyDeleteWTF is going on?
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry but to understand what happening in the world today is simple. Read: ““When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is;”
ReplyDeleteII Chronicles 6:28 NKJV
https://www.bible.com/114/2ch.6.28.nkjv
Its entirely possible that what we are experiencing now is what Jesus called - the beginning of sorrows.
DeleteSince 5G makes birds drop dead from the sky, wouldn't it worth trying it on those swarms of locusts? Just a thought.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI'm reposting the following again because it seems to have been '5G censured'...
'Since 5G makes birds drop dead from the sky, why not using it on those swarms of locust? Just a thought'.
'5G censured'...????
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGary Walton, I meant being censured because of what I wrote the day before about 5G being dangerous.
Psycd: I agree. I think the disconnect here as elsewhere with the words: "climate change" is because of politicization. Fair-thinking minds automatically understand the basic words, meaning that the climate is changing, without describing a cause. It is the description of an effect, not a cause.
ReplyDelete"Climate change" in the minds of the "simple-minded projecting" blamers becomes a "cause", meaning: "The globalists are trying to use the false narrative of "climate change" to take over the world with the lie that humans are primarily responsible for global warming." We must fight this!
This may or may not be true. It probably is not true unless you are a conspiracy theorist that dreams up God-like powers for his adversaries in order to complete his delusion, but it is not the definition of "climate change".
Foxcult thinks "climate change" itself is a farce because they confuse these perceptions.
Also, kudos to Earl 3! Beautiful reference. I looked it up and remembered its plain good advice. Thanks!