Are these the harbingers that herald the end of the world?
That’s what people thought on Tuesday as the sky darkened over the small town of Sinanché, which is picturesquely located on the Gulf of Mexico.
Swarms of locusts that stretched for kilometers moved in, seemed to occupy everything and only left the town again as night fell. The insects settled on bushes, houses and streets. Then the animals fell, according to the online portal “ Metro” attacked everything edible, eating their way through lemon and orange plantations, among other things.
There was nowhere to escape from the animals: they flew into supermarkets, through shopping centers and schools. Always looking for food.
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An apocalyptic scenario. Social media users and the Mexican press asked the same question: Is the end of the world imminent?
Background: For many of the mostly strict Catholic Mexicans, the locust attack reminds us of the Second Book of Moses. The Bible describes the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt: Because Pharaoh doesn’t want to let the Jews go, his country is hit by ten plagues – each one worse than the next. The eighth biblical plague is the plague of locusts. Here too, the animals ate all the greenery from the trees, fields and bushes. The result: a famine catastrophe.
The picture shows a European migratory locust, which was a feared pest, especially in the Middle Ages
To prevent such a scenario from occurring in Mexico, many farmers tried to defend themselves against the locust plague this week with pesticides. This was intended to kill the animals. For free.
Locusts moved on
Numerous fields were swept empty; according to local news reports, the crawlers were primarily targeting corn cobs. And the residents of Sinanché, who did not fear for their fields, were anything but pleased with the locust plague. For example, one wrote on the social network X with a view to the situation on the streets: “I won’t open my mouth again for now.”
At least: After about half a day, the people around Sinanché were saved. After the locusts had eaten everything, they simply moved on. Of all places, in the direction of the provincial capital Mérida (920,000 inhabitants). More insects have been there since Monday and parks are drowning in locusts.
However, there is said to have been no major disgrace. Only many bushes and plants were nibbled. The good news: Experts expect the hoppers to move on in the coming days. Where? Still unclear.
According to one, there is a risk of such scenarios in Germany Study by the Technical University in Cologne very unlikely – yet. Because: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) assumes that climate change is encouraging the appearance of locusts in droves.