Locusts found dead soon after reaching Chitral
CHITRAL: Locusts have been found dead in the remote hilly areas of Madak Lasht in Lower Chitral district and Khot in Upper Chitral district.
FILE PHOTOOfficials said the cold weather killed the locusts after a windstorm brought them to the region at nighttime.
Deputy director of the agriculture department Rafique Ahmad said a small number of locusts, which reached the area along a violent storm, had survived but as individuals they couldn’t harm the foliage as they did in other areas of the country.
“Fortunately, it was raining as the locusts arrived here so the temperature was too low for them to survive. They died instantly,” he said.
In the midst of coronavirus impact on health and livelihoods, Pakistan is also facing an imminent danger of locust attacks that may ultimately affect food security, it emerged during a recent hearing in the Supreme Court of a case pertaining to the prevention of coronavirus pandemic.