Unusual cyclones over past two years created Africa’s locust plague

Huge swarms of locusts plaguing eastern Africa are the result of extreme weather events over the past two years.

Swarms of desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) are rampaging through several countries including Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. The locusts are devastating pastures and cropland, threatening the livelihoods of millions of people.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in a statement that the swarms are unprecedented: “Ethiopia and Somalia have not seen desert locust swarms of this scale in 25 years, …