It started with a few heavy rains in the middle of a desert. You've probably seen the footage—thick, oily clouds of insects so dense they literally blocked out the sun over the Horn of Africa. This wasn't some biblical metaphor or a scene from a disaster flick. This was the reality of 2020, a period often overshadowed by the pandemic but known to entomologists and farmers as the year of the locust.
While the rest of the world was busy scrubbing down groceries and hoarding toilet paper, millions of people in East Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia were watching their entire livelihoods disappear in an afternoon. Desert locusts are basically grasshoppers on steroids. When they enter their "gregarious phase," they transform. They change color, grow bigger muscles, and develop an insatiable appetite. A single swarm can cover hundreds of square miles.
Think about that for a second.
A swarm the size of Paris can eat as much food in one day as half the population of France. It’s terrifying.
The Perfect Storm: Why 2020 Became the Year of the Locust
Honestly, we have the weather to blame. It wasn't just bad luck. Two massive cyclones in 2018 dumped a ridiculous amount of water into the "Empty Quarter" of the Arabian Peninsula. This is a place where almost nothing grows. But the water created these hidden, lush breeding grounds in the middle of nowhere. By the time anyone realized what was happening, the locusts had already gone through several breeding cycles.
Population growth in these insects is exponential.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, a single generation can increase twenty-fold. After three generations? That's an 8,000-fold increase. By early 2020, billions of insects were spilling out of the desert and into Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. It was the worst infestation Kenya had seen in 70 years.
Keith Cressman, the FAO’s senior locust forecasting officer at the time, was sounding the alarm for months. He pointed out that "unprecedented" was the only word that really fit. The insects weren't just eating crops; they were eating everything. Pasture for livestock? Gone. Smallholder vegetable patches? Vanished in minutes.
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The Biology of a Nightmare
You might wonder why we can't just spray them and be done with it. It's not that simple. Desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) are highly mobile. They can travel 150 kilometers in a single day, riding the wind. If you spray one area today, the swarm is three districts over by tomorrow morning.
Also, they breed in remote, often politically unstable areas. In 2020, conflict in Yemen made it nearly impossible to monitor the initial breeding sites. If you can’t hit them while they’re still "hoppers"—before they grow wings—you've basically lost the battle.
The transition from a solitary grasshopper to a swarming locust is triggered by physical contact. When they get crowded together, their hind legs rub against each other. This contact triggers a massive spike in serotonin in their tiny brains. Suddenly, they aren't shy, solitary bugs anymore. They become a cohesive, hungry unit. This biological "flip" is what makes the year of the locust so hard to manage.
Economic Scars and the COVID-19 Complication
The timing was honestly the worst part. Just as the swarms were reaching their peak, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down global supply chains. Pesticide shipments were delayed. Aircraft for aerial spraying were grounded because pilots couldn't get visas or health clearances.
In Ethiopia, where agriculture makes up about a third of the GDP, the impact was devastating. Over 200,000 hectares of cropland were damaged. Imagine being a farmer who has spent your last bit of savings on seeds and fertilizer, only to watch a buzzing orange cloud descend on your field. In two hours, your entire year of income is gone.
- In India, swarms reached as far as Jaipur and even touched the edges of Delhi.
- Pakistan declared a national emergency to deal with the insects.
- Somalia faced a "triple threat": locusts, floods, and the virus.
The World Bank estimated that the 2020-2021 locust crisis could cost East Africa and Yemen as much as $8.5 billion. That's a staggering number for regions already struggling with poverty. Even today, the recovery is ongoing. Many farmers had to sell their breeding livestock just to buy food, which sets a family back for a decade, not just a season.
Technology vs. The Swarm
We did learn some things. The year of the locust forced us to get smarter. The FAO started using a tool called "eLocust3," which is basically a tablet-based system that allows field teams to transmit data in real-time via satellite.
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They also started experimenting with drones. Standard planes are great for large swarms, but drones can get into the nooks and crannies. They can spot smaller groups of hoppers before they take flight.
There's also some interesting research into bio-pesticides. Using a fungus called Metarhizium acridum is becoming more popular. It specifically targets locusts and doesn't kill bees or other beneficial insects. It takes a few days to work, which is the downside, but it's way better for the environment than the old-school organophosphates.
Why We Should Still Be Worried
Climate change is making these "once-in-a-lifetime" events way more common. Warmer oceans lead to more frequent and intense cyclones in the Indian Ocean. More cyclones mean more "green-up" events in the desert. More green-up events mean more locusts.
It's a feedback loop that isn't going away.
While 2020 was the peak, we've seen smaller flares ever since. The 2024 and 2025 seasons have stayed relatively quiet compared to the big one, but the threat is always "simmering." Experts like those at the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) are constantly watching the moisture levels in the sands of the Red Sea coast.
Lessons from the Field
What most people get wrong is thinking this is just a "nature problem." It's a logistics and politics problem. When countries don't talk to each other or when borders are closed due to war, the locusts win. They don't need passports.
If we want to prevent another year of the locust, we need international cooperation that survives even when there isn't an active crisis. Usually, what happens is the swarms die down, the funding dries up, and everyone forgets until the next orange cloud appears on the horizon.
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We can't afford that cycle anymore.
The 2020 crisis proved that our global food system is fragile. A few weeks of rain in a remote desert can lead to a hunger crisis half a continent away. It’s all connected.
Actionable Insights for the Future
If you’re involved in agriculture, global development, or just want to be prepared for how these cycles affect food prices, here is what actually matters:
Early Warning Systems are Non-Negotiable
Support for organizations like the FAO’s Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS) is the first line of defense. They use satellite imagery to detect where vegetation is growing in the desert before the insects even arrive.
Regional Cooperation is the Only Way
Locusts are a transboundary pest. If one country sprays and its neighbor doesn't, the effort is wasted. Transnational organizations like the Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA) need consistent, year-round funding, not just emergency "firefighter" cash.
Diversify Local Food Sources
For those in affected regions, moving away from a monoculture of maize or wheat can help. Root crops like cassava are sometimes less vulnerable to total destruction during a quick swarm passage compared to leafy grains.
Focus on Bio-Pesticides
The long-term health of the soil and water in these regions depends on moving away from heavy chemical use. Investing in the production and storage of fungal-based biopesticides allows for a faster response that doesn't poison the local ecosystem.
Monitor the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)
Keep an eye on climate reports regarding the IOD. A "positive" phase usually means more rain in East Africa and more potential for locust outbreaks. It's the best long-lead indicator we have for predicting these surges months in advance.
The 2020 outbreak was a wake-up call that the world largely missed because of the pandemic. By understanding the triggers and the technology available to fight back, we can hopefully ensure that the next time the desert turns green, it brings life instead of a plague.