The United Nations’ body, World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), has warned that locust attacks are posing a serious threat to food security in parts of East Africa, India and Pakistan as a result of changing climate conditions that can be linked to human activity.
The Ministry of Agriculture made a detailed presentation before the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture on Tuesday on the recent locust attacks and steps taken to prevent them in nine States.
As per the presentation, the Ministry told the panel that it had carried out locust control operation in over 3.70 lakh hectare land from the affected areas. “Swarms of immature pink locusts and adult yellow locusts are today active in Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Churu, Sikar, Nagaur, Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar, Ajmer Pali, Alwar and Tonk districts of Rajasthan,” officials added.
Sources said as per the presentation, five companies with 15 drones have been deployed at Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagaur and Phalodi in Rajasthan for effective control of locusts on tall trees and in inaccessible areas through spraying of pesticides. Aerial spraying capacity has been strengthened for anti-locust operations with deployment of a Bell helicopter in Rajasthan for use in Scheduled Desert Area as per the need and Indian Air Force has also conducted trials in anti-locust operation by using Mi-17 helicopter.
According to sources, the panel stressed that there should be greater scientific research on means to control the menace and also compensation for farmers if the crops get affected.
While the WMO said extreme weather events and climatic changes such as increases in temperature and rainfall over desert areas, and the strong winds associated with tropical cyclones, provide a new environment for pest breeding, development and migration. WMO cited an article in Nature Climate Change and said while desert locusts have been here since biblical times, recent intense outbreaks can be linked to anthropogenic climate change and the increased frequency of extreme weather events.
“Attribution of a single event to climate change is difficult. However, climatic changes such as increases in temperature and rainfall over desert areas, and the strong winds associated with tropical cyclones, provide a new environment for pest breeding, development and migration. This suggests that global warming played a role in creating the conditions required for the development, outbreak and survival of the locusts,” scientists from the Intergovernmental Authority on Climate Prediction and Applications Centre said (ICPAC).
Large and aggressive swarms of these crop-devouring short-horned insects recently invaded over two dozen districts of desert areas in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
The article cited the role of Indian Ocean warming, intense and unusual tropical cyclones in the region and heavy rainfall and flooding as playing an important role. “The recent locust outbreaks and the role of Indian Ocean warming show that the impact of climate change is not merely the consequences of changes in mean temperature, but also of increases in extreme and unprecedented events,” the article said.