Worst locust outbreak seen in a quarter of a century example of global warming, say environmentalists

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 27

Like ‘Super Cyclone’ Amphan, the “worst locust outbreak seen in a quarter of a century” in India is yet another example of global warming and climate change, say agricultural and environmental experts.

While officials claim otherwise, they are also slamming the government for its unpreparedness or slow response to the situation, despite a timely warning by the FAO. 

“Climate change is facilitating breeding and movement of locusts. Untimely rains and increased cyclonic activity have helped them breed faster. December had never seen a locust attack but in 2019 there was one. The warning was available well in advance and there was enough time for India to be prepared,” says agricultural policy expert Devinder Sharma.

Environmentalist Soumya Dutta says climate change driven disasters, almost all of which were predicted to happen in increasing frequency and intensity, have started “over-topping the predictions”. 

Starting with the pandemic of the century in the form of COVID-19, the ‘extremely severe cyclone’ Amphan that devastated several parts of south Bengal and north Odisha and the “biggest in a quarter century locust swarm threatening Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh”, are the proofs, he said.

“Even though locust swarm had been forewarned by the UN with clear messages to Iran, Pakistan and India preparations by Indian authorities fell far short of needed. What measures they took is not known, or of doubtful authenticity,” says Dutta. 

Apart from issuing advisories, talking to pesticides producers to start producing more malathion and asking Iran and Pakistan for coordination, Dutta says most essential thing Indian and Rajasthan governments could have done is eliminating them as it entered Indian territories. 

“There are hundreds of kilometres of desert, arid and semiarid land these swarms crossed before coming into crop fields of Rajasthan. Timely aerial spraying on the swarms, by small aircraft or heavy drones could have drastically cut down these swarms in the desert areas itself,” he said.

Several locust waves are expected until early July due to spring breeding in southern Iran and southwest Pakistan.

Locusts thrive in wet conditions, and outbreaks often follow floods and cyclones. Heavy rain leads to growth of vegetation in arid areas, providing locusts with conditions needed to develop and reproduce. 

The 2019 North Indian Ocean Cyclone season was the most active ever recorded. Besides India also had an unusual monsoon season and an unusual number of low pressure systems linked to ocean circulation pattern called Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD).  

The positive phase of the IOD in 2019 was the strongest for six decades, say environmentalists.  

As greenhouse gases continue to heat the ocean and the atmosphere, extreme events are predicted to become increasingly common.

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