"Warming temperatures, as well as more droughts and extreme rains, may create favorable conditions for breeding and swarming in Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan."
"As global warming accelerates, scientists say it’s more important than ever to understand how climate extremes such as heatwaves, droughts and extreme rains affect locust outbreaks that can destroy billions of dollars worth of crops within a few weeks when the insects swarm.
A study published today in Science Advances suggests that, if global warming isn’t curbed, west India and west central Asia could become locust hotspots in the decades ahead, raising new challenges for control efforts, and further threatening food security and livelihoods in already vulnerable regions.
The scientists said suitable locust habitat could increase about 5 percent in a low-emission future with limited warming, compared to locust distribution between 1985 to 2000. But with high emissions and greater warming, it could increase by as much as 13 to 25 percent during the 2065 to 2100 period.
If the global temperature keeps rising, it “may create favorable conditions for locust development in previously low-temperature regions,” said co-author Xiaogang He, assistant professor for civil and environmental engineering at the National University of Singapore."
Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News February 14, 2024.
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