In Pictures

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In Pictures: Locust outbreak spreads across East Africa

Officials warn numerous swarms pose ‘unprecedented’ threat to food security and livelihoods in parts of the region.

Samburu men attempt to fend-off a swarm of desert locusts flying over a grazing land in Lemasulani village, Samburu County, Kenya January 17, 2020. REUTERS/Njeri Mwangi
A group of men attempts to fend off a swarm of desert locusts flying over grazing land in Lemasulani, a village in Kenya's Samburu county. [Njeri Mwangi/Reuters]
Published On 20 Jan 2020

A serious outbreak of locusts is spreading in parts of East Africa and posing an “unprecedented” threat to food security in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, according to officials, with unusual climate conditions partly to blame.

Roughly the length of a finger, the insects fly together by the millions. They devour crops and destroy grazing plots, threatening food production and local economies.

An “extremely dangerous increase” in locust swarm activity has been reported in Kenya, the East African regional body reported this week. One swarm measured 60km (37 miles) long and 40km (25 miles) wide in the country’s northeast, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said in a statement.

The outbreak of desert locusts, considered the most dangerous locust species, has also affected parts of Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea. Parts of South Sudan and Uganda could be next, the IGAD warned.

The outbreak is making the region’s bad food security situation worse, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with hundreds of thousands of acres of crops destroyed.

Desert locusts are seen in a grazing land in Nakwamuru village, Samburu County, Kenya January 16, 2020. REUTERS/Njeri Mwangi
Roughly the length of a finger, the insects fly together by the millions and are devouring crops. [Njeri Mwangi/Reuters]
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Desert locusts are seen within a grazing land in Lemasulani village, Samburu County, Kenya January 17, 2020. REUTERS/Njeri Mwangi
The further increase in locust swarms could last until June as favourable breeding conditions continue. [Njeri Mwangi/Reuters]
In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, a Samburu boy walks behind his camel as a swarm of desert locusts fills the air, near the village of Sissia, in Samburu county, Kenya. The most serious out
The outbreak poses an unprecedented threat to food security in some of the world's most vulnerable countries, regional officials say. [Patrick Ngugi/AP Photo]
An undated handout photo made available by Kenya''s Laikipia Farmers'' Association shows desert locusts in northern Kenya (issued 14 January 2020. Large swarms of desert locusts have been invading north
Large swarms of desert locusts have been invading northern Kenya for weeks, after having infested some 70,000 hectares (172,974 acres) of land in Somalia. [Handout/EPA]
In this photo taken Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020, a Samburu man who works for a county disaster team identifying the location of the locusts, holds one on his hand near the village of Sissia, in Samburu co
To help prevent and control outbreaks, authorities analyse satellite images, stockpile pesticides and conduct aerial spraying. [Patrick Ngugi/AP Photo]
A local tour guide holds a handfull of dead desert locusts after an invasion in Shaba National Reserve in Isiolo, northern Kenya, 16 January 2020 (issued 18 January 2020). Large swarms of desert locus
A local tour guide holds a handful of dead desert locusts after an invasion in Shaba National Reserve in Isiolo, northern Kenya. [Daniel Irungu/EPA]
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A desert locust is seen after an invasion in Shaba National Reserve in Isiolo, northern Kenya, 16 January 2020 (issued 18 January 2020). Large swarms of desert locusts have been invading northern Keny
A major locust outbreak between 2003 and 2005 cost more than $500m to control across 20 countries in Northern Africa, the FAO has said, with more than $2.5bn in harvest losses. [Daniel Irungu/EPA]