Originally published Friday, February 22, 2008 at 12:00 AM
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Print viewDesert locusts threatening crops in United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates has seen its largest swarms of desert locusts in 25 years, which could threaten crops, national media reported...
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates has seen its largest swarms of desert locusts in 25 years, which could threaten crops, national media reported Thursday.
Desert locusts migrate from Africa across the UAE and Saudi Arabia to Iran about every five years, and some groups fly as far as India and Pakistan.
The country's last locust plague was seen a quarter of a century ago, according to Al-Bayan newspaper. However, the paper quoted authorities in Al Fujayrah as saying such a large number of the insects had not been witnessed in the country in 50 years.
The insects have destroyed more than 10 percent of vegetation in the Al Buraimi Oasis in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, mostly forests and date palms, Al-Ittihad newspaper reported.
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