In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, India and Pakistan are battling another crisis -- their worst locust attack in nearly three decades.

The flying insects have crossed over to India in a wave of desert swarms from neighboring Pakistan, sweeping several parts of the country and threatening to damage crops.

Locusts are an omnivorous and migratory insect that can fly hundreds of kilometers in swarms and easily cross national boundaries. Apart from Africa and Asia, it is also found in the Middle East, and inhabits some 60 countries. A swarm one sq. kilometer in size contains about 40 million locusts, which eat the same amount of food in one day as about 35,000 people, according to the FAO.

India has not witnessed full-blown locust cycles after 1993. Heavy rains and increasing number of cyclones, both effects of the climate crisis, enabled unprecedented breeding and the rapid growth of locust populations on the Arabian Peninsula early last year, according to the United Nations.Research admitted that there hasn’t been much “systematic research” on desert locusts since the 1990s and the current invasion is a wake-up call to revive the programme. This is indeed a wake-up call. The earth has entered a period of hydrological, climatological, and biological change that differs from previous episodes .

Experts have warned of huge crop losses if the swarms are not stopped by June when the monsoons will lead to a new season of sowing rice, sugarcane, cotton and other crops.While locusts are unlikely to be a threat in urban centres as they do not have much to feed on, the national lockdown has made the availability of pesticide as well as its transportation difficult. With labour also not being available easily due to the lockdown, this could affect spraying operations and, as a result, allow locusts to cause significant damage.

Experience shows that a locust plague usually follows a one to two year cycle after which there is a lull for eight to nine years. However, strong Indian Ocean Dipoles are expected to become more frequent whetted by an overall trend of warming oceans. This phenomenon could trigger regular locust infestations.