PESTICIDES WERE
SPRAYED ON
MORE THAN FIVE
MILLION ACRES IN
2020 AND 2021 TO
KILL THE LOCUSTS.
—FAOSwarms of locusts
descended on East Africa
from 2019 into 2021,
destroying crops in a region
where millions of people
are at risk of starvation. The
outbreaks were driven by
unusually strong cyclones
that dumped torrential
rains, creating perfect con-
ditions for the insects. The
storms, in turn, were fueled
by unusually warm waters
off East Africa. Climate
change, besides warming
the whole planet, recently
has favored an El Niño–
like oscillation that pushes
warm waters into the west-
ern Indian Ocean, where
East African cyclones are
born. “I think we can assume
there will be more locust
outbreaks and upsurges
in the Horn of Africa,” says
Keith Cressman, a desert
locust expert with the
UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
PHOTOGRAPH BY
DAVID CHANCELLORLewa Wildlife Conservancy, KenyaA CYCLONE OF LOCUSTS
MAR. 2 3
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