translated from Spanish: Locust plague could devastate the planet.- UN

The United Nations (UN) says the current outbreak of locusts in east Africa is the worst seen in 70 years, and nearly $76 million is required to help control the spread of these devastating insects. So far, only $18 million has been invested in the affected countries to control the plague that threatens to spread to other regions of the world.

According to experts desert locusts have the ability to travel between 100 and 150 kilometers per day, with favorable winds; in addition, they can be multiplied by 20 every three months. Such characteristics allow them, in theory, to jump the red sea from the Arabian Peninsula to the horn of Africa.The countries facing this problem today are Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, in which the hunger situation faced by millions of its inhabitants. As if the above were not enough, a swarm of this species extended in a square kilometer can devour, in a single day, the same amount of food as 36 thousand people together, according to information from Europe pressThe same means indicates that East Africa can host up to 150 million lobsters per square kilometre. In Kenya alone, swarms have been recorded in two thousand,400 square kilometres of Biscay province, creating a food crisis with the potential to affect more than 80 million people. The outbreak of this plague is feared to be aided by climate change and spread to South Sudan and Uganda. In addition, the rains forecasted for the next few weeks will feed the fresh vegetation and you will be able to generally a new wave of reproduction. The hope is to control the spread of locusts in June, with the advent of dry weather, the authorities noted.

Original source in Spanish