China’s satellites help Pakistan monitor desert locusts

BEIJING: The satellite and meteorological data provided by China’s meteorological satellites could be used to monitor Pakistan’s desert locusts and provide early warnings to relevant parties, said sources form China Meteorological Administration (CMA).

China Economic Net (CEN) quoting the sources reported on Wednesday that the CMA has released special reports on remote sensing data of locust attacks in Pakistan. “China’s Fengyun series satellites can generate information for analysis of locust-affected area by monitoring rainfall, soil moisture and land surface temperature (LST) changes of the African and South Asian countries,” CMA noted.

It was explained that a hotter and wetter climate favours more multiplication of locusts, and studies have also linked wind direction, speed, and other weather parameters to the migration of locusts.

As per an update issued by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), the summer breeding of desert locust swarms has commenced in Pakistan’s Tharparkar, Nara and Cholistan deserts where hatching and band formation will increase later this month. On top of monitoring the breeding and movement of locust swarm, Fengyun satellites are helpful when it comes to the assessment of vegetation damage. Locust swarms ravaged crops and pastureland, destroyed food and vegetation and jeopardized food security across Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and parts of South Asia. Fengyun-3 (FY-3) polar orbit meteorological satellite.