As the world continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems that some African countries also face a veritable plague of locusts.
A video that was posted online by WaPo reporter Max Bearak on 24 April (and apparently recorded on the same day) shows swarms of these voracious insects flying over a highway in Kenya, with the view of Mt. Ololokwe in the background nearly being eclipsed by locusts' bodies.
The iconic view of Kenya’s Mt. Ololokwe, on the highway to Ethiopia. Right now, 08:32am, April 24, 2020. pic.twitter.com/nuHx96w2ud
— Max Bearak (@maxbearak) April 24, 2020
As the UN Food and Agriculture Organization warns, the situation in East Africa “remains extremely alarming as more swarms form and mature in northern and central Kenya", according to the Daily Star which also states that the swarm depicted in the video seems to be migrating north towards Ethiopia.
"The plague is going to last at least until June in East Africa, and perhaps longer depending on the current and future rains”, Dr Keith Cressman, senior locust forecasting officer, told the newspaper. "It is not possible to say with any precision. Much depends on the weather and success of ,control ops."
Earlier, the UN announced that the food security of some 25 million Africans is endangered by the current desert locust crisis.
