Locust outbreaks could get worse as global temperatures continue to climb 全球氣溫持續攀升 可能加劇蝗災

全球氣溫持續攀升，可能加劇蝗災。（美聯社）

◎陳成良

Extreme wind and rain may lead to bigger and worse desert locust outbreaks, with human-caused climate change likely to intensify the weather patterns and cause higher outbreak risks, a new study has found.

極端的風和雨可能導致更大、更嚴重的沙漠蝗災，而人為造成的氣候變遷，可能會加劇這種天氣模式，並增加蝗災爆發的風險，一項新研究發現。

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The desert locust — a short-horned species found in some dry areas of northern and eastern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia — is a migratory insect that travels in swarms of millions over long distances and damages crops, causing famine and food insecurity. A square kilometer swarm comprises 80 million locusts that can in one day consume food crops enough to feed 35,000 people.

沙漠蝗蟲是一種短角物種，分佈在非洲北部和東部、中東和南亞的一些乾旱地區，是一種遷徙性的昆蟲，以數百萬隻的群體遷徙長距離，破壞農作物，造成饑荒和糧食不安全。1平方公里的蝗群包含8000萬隻蝗蟲，1天可以消耗足夠養活3.5萬人的糧食作物。

The study, published in Science Advances on Wednesday, said these outbreaks will be “increasingly hard to prevent and control” in a warming climate.

這項研究週三發表於《科學進展》期刊，指出在氣候變暖的情況下，這些蝗災將「越來越難以預防和控制」。

新聞辭典

migratory：形容詞，遷徙的（指候鳥或其他動物的季節性遷徙特徵），（動物、候鳥或人）移居的，遷居的。例句：Sea eagles are not migratory, so once extinct, there is no chance of them returning naturally.（海鷹不是候鳥，所以一旦滅絕，就不會有同類從遷徙地自然回歸原駐地的可能。）

swarm：名詞，一大群（昆蟲）。例句：Ronny was so focused on observing a swarm of ants that no one can disrupt him.（羅尼很專心觀察一群螞蟻，沒人可以打斷他。）

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