2019–2021 locust infestation
The 2019–2021 locust infestation is a pest outbreak of desert locusts which is threatening the food supply across the regions of East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Indian subcontinent. The outbreak is the worst in 70 years in Kenya and the worst in 25 years in Ethiopia, Somalia and India. The plague began in June 2019 and continued into 2020, although locust swarms have experienced steady declines in population and geographical reach from May to October, and as of November 2020, primarily found in the Horn of Africa and Yemen.

The current outbreak began when Cyclone Mekunu in 2018 produced heavy rains in the Rub' al Khali of the Arabian Peninsula; in Spring 2019, swarms spread from these areas, and by June 2019, the locusts spread north to Iran, Pakistan, and India and south to East Africa, particularly the Horn of Africa. By the end of 2019, there were swarms in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Oman, Iran, India, and Pakistan. By June 2020, a separate swarm appeared in South America, affecting Paraguay and Argentina.

In April 2020, travel and shipping restrictions precipitated by the spread of COVID-19 began to hamper efforts to control the locusts, preventing the transport of pesticides, equipment, and personnel, and contributing to the global incidence of COVID-19 related food insecurity.

Locust swarms worldwide faced a steady decline in size from May to October, as countries and intergovernmental organisations have instituted extensive aerial and ground pest control efforts aided by low quantities of rainfall in several affected regions and the absence of storm activity in the Indian Ocean. As of October 2020, only Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Yemen harbour significant swarms of gregarious locusts, with the remainder of the population situated in isolated pockets in Kenya, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia. While locust swarms continue to threaten countries around the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as their immediate neighbours, they are not expected to return to countries east of the Arabian Peninsula, nor to those west of Sudan.
Q219174
pest
Concept
Q281634
desert locusts
Concept
Q27407
East Africa
LOC
Q31945
Arabian Peninsula
LOC
Q60140
Indian subcontinent
LOC
Q114
Kenya
LOC
Q115
Ethiopia
LOC
Q1045
Somalia
LOC
Q668
India
LOC
Q54187991
Cyclone Mekunu
MISC
Q229269
Rub' al Khali
LOC
Q31945
Arabian Peninsula
LOC
Q40556
Horn of Africa
LOC
Q115
Ethiopia
LOC
Q986
Eritrea
LOC
Q1045
Somalia
LOC
Q114
Kenya
LOC
Q851
Saudi Arabia
LOC
Q805
Yemen
LOC
Q79
Egypt
LOC
Q842
Oman
LOC
Q794
Iran
LOC
Q668
India
LOC
Q843
Pakistan
LOC
Q733
Paraguay
LOC
Q414
Argentina
LOC
Q84263196
COVID-19
Concept
Q96058732
COVID-19 related food insecurity
UNK
Q1239
Indian Ocean
LOC
Q23406
Red Sea
LOC
Q41837
Gulf of Aden
LOC
Q85170873
2019–2021 locust infestation
EVE
2019-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2019
DATE
2019-06-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
June 2019
DATE
2020-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2020
DATE
2020-11-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
November 2020
DATE
2018-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2018
DATE
2019-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2019
DATE
2019-06-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
June 2019
DATE
2019-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
2019
DATE
2020-06-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
June 2020
DATE
2020-04-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
April 2020
DATE
2020-10-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
October 2020
DATE
+2021^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
2021
NUMBER
+70^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
70
NUMBER
+25^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
25
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
start time
start time
start time
shares border with
diplomatic relation