Massive locust plague poised to cut multiple countries' GDP

• Gro Intelligence analysts tell Axios they are expecting "significant impact to agricultural production in India, along with Pakistan and East Africa."
• India recently surpassed Brazil to become the biggest sugar producer in the world and about 40% of the planted area of sugarcane is in a main agricultural province currently under threat from locusts.
• In June, Fitch Ratings warned that locusts could shake east Africa’s macroeconomic stability.

Yes, but: "Locust outbreaks in the significant cereal and protein exporters are rare, so significant disruptions in the international food supply chain are unlikely," Gro analysts note in an email.

• "However, locusts may significantly impact countries which already face food insecurity, which can lead to localized supply shocks rippling through the international economy due to, for instance, currency crises or increased migration."

Why it's happening: The massive increase and spread of the locusts is linked to climate and climate patterns, Menker says.

Between the lines: Dino Martins, executive director of the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya, calls the locusts a warning from nature.

• "As terrifying and as dramatic as they are, there is a deeper message, and the message is that we are changing the environment," he told the Harvard Gazette, noting local environmental degradation, overgrazing, deforestation and the expansion of deserts are creating ideal conditions for more locusts to breed.