East Africa is reeling from an invasion of locusts

“LET MY PEOPLEUNFAO go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow.” So said God, rather vengefully, according to Moses and Aaron. But although the locust infestation wreaking havoc on east Africa is of biblical proportions, it is not a portent of end times, said experts at a press conference in Nairobi this month. Still, the finger-length bugs spell big trouble for the countries most affected.It is the worst locust invasion in decades for Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. One enormous swarm, recently over north-eastern Kenya, contains nearly 200bn of the creatures and occupies a space in the sky three times the size of New York City. There are dozens of swarms in Kenya alone. And the ’s Food and Agriculture Organisation () warns that the number of locusts could increase 500-fold by June, when it is hoped that drier weather will check their spread.