Heat and locusts destroy grasslands in western China

A locust invasion and heat-driven drought threaten to destroy agricultural land in the highlands of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, regional government spokesman Mu Chen said on Wednesday, saying...

A locust invasion and a heatwave-driven drought threaten to destroy agricultural land in the highlands of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, regional government spokesman Mu Chen said on Wednesday, quoted by Xinhua News Agency.

"The locusts attacked the highland pastures in the Kunlun Mountain region at an altitude of 3,500 to 4,500 meters above sea level," a Chinese official said.

The pests could deprive up to 12 million livestock of food, he said, with disastrous consequences for Xinjiang's agriculture.

The locust raids were triggered by the intense heat that has dominated the expanses of northwestern China for several months now. The air temperature does not fall below 37-40 degrees Celsius in the shade.

Mu Chen said that locust control specialists have arrived in the region and are building artificial nests for sparrows.
“It turns out that sparrows are the perfect weapon in the fight against harmful insects,” he said.

To date, locusts and heat have already destroyed more than 158 thousand hectares of pastures in Xinjiang.

According to the message RIA News