The swarm: The Hindu editorial on locust attack
Just last week, eastern India was battered by one of the most powerful cyclones in decades and now, even as hundreds of lives are lost every day to the coronavirus, another danger lurks on the nation’s west. It is a testimony to its devastating potential that an arcane piece of legislation, The East Punjab Agricultural Pests, Diseases and Noxious Weeds Act, 1949, has a provision whereby a District Collector can “.call upon any male person not below the age of 14 years resident in the district to render all possible assistance.” and there is potential imprisonment for failure to abide by the law. But moist African deserts precipitated locust breeding and favourable rain-bearing winds aided their transport towards India. On the other hand, coronavirus quarantines meant that routine coordination activities involving India, Pakistan and Afghanistan regarding spraying pesticides were halted. While it is some comfort that there is now limited standing crop in India, forecasts are for good rains in Rajasthan, and, paradoxically, conducive conditions for locust breeding during the sowing season.
Locusts enter Haryana districts; agriculture minister says necessary action take
India is using drones and fire trucks to fight its worst locust invasion in almost 30 years
The Hindu Explains | Why is the locust surge posing a threat to agriculture in India?
Discover Related
Winter rain induced by back-to-back western disturbances boon for wheat production
The takeaway from Mumbai hoarding tragedy
Bengaluru rains: Here is how to alert civic body about vulnerable trees around
Weather Bee | Temperature alone cannot predict distress as monsoon approaches
Twelve firefly hotspots identified in Bengaluru
Skymet predicts dry weather for Telangana till July first week
Bihar to see heavy rain, heat wave at the same time
UN food agency says widespread locust infestation in Afghan provinces is ‘huge concern’
Cyclone-induced rainfall proves detrimental for mango farmers in Karnataka
In dry, unreliable weather, Indian farmers restore arid land
Dalit Bandhu drones run into rough weather
Climate change, big agriculture combine to threaten insects
Climate change, big agriculture combine to threaten world’s insects
The world's insect population is in decline — and that's bad news for humans
IMD yellow alert: Thunderstorm, rains likely in 8 districts of Vidarbha
Telangana to Use Drones For Afforestation in All 33 Districts Under ‘Hara Bhara’ Project
Jammu’s Farmers Distraught as Unseasonal Hailstorms Destroy Crops
Large Scale Volcanic Eruptions Can Help Better Understand Indian Monsoon, Says Study
Locust Control Measures Over 5.66 Lakh Hectares in 10 States So Far, Says Centre