Caterpillars Devour 45 Towns in Liberia: Climate Change Possibly to Blame
In the aftermath of another extended rainy season, Liberia has experienced its worst caterpillar plague in three decades. Tens of millions of the black-haired creatures have swarmed farms, devastated crops and contaminated several major waterways with their feces. The lingering rainy seasons, which might be an indication of global warming, are the likely culprit for the creepy invasion.
Liberian agriculturalists have called for extensive aerial spraying to combat the rapacious larvae, since the caterpillars have managed to bypass more minimal, local attempts to divert the hordes. But UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) officials are concerned that these drastic measures could sacrifice long term recovery for a short term fix. The pesticides could contaminate an already precarious food and water supply, which would escalate environmental concerns in the region for years to come.
