Climate Change Makes Locust Swarms a More Regular Threat to Farmers
A swarm of locusts that covers the land and the skies, devours crops, and leaves cattle without grass for grazing is a plague worthy of the Bible. In Argentina, where farmers have reported locust clouds “four miles long and nearly two miles high,” according to the New York Times, the threat is all too real.
The country is facing the worst infestation of locusts in 60 years and most believe there is no stopping the swarm at this point, only a possibility of lessening its’ effects. Fumigators have been attempting to kill young locusts which are not yet able to fly. In a little more than a week, the locusts are expected to “mature into voracious flying swarms in search of food,” the New York Times wrote. The Rural Confederation of Argentina told La Nacion that 700,000 hectares of farmland have already been affected and could easily spread to millions if immediate action isn’t taken. Farmers in the surrounding area grow sunflower and cotton, or manage grasslands for grazing livestock—but if the swarm takes to the air, there's no telling where it might land and what damage the locust could do
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