Mixed Blessings

I saw this picture on my Facebook news feed yesterday.



Photo courtesy of National Geographic

 
You may ask the same question I did: is this real? It may also induce some nausea and dry tongue.
With the recent floods in Pakistan, areas received 8 to 16 inches of rain in four days--the amount of precipitation the country usually sees in a year. As the rivers rose, spiders sought refuge in the trees, spinning these intricate and giant webs.

What we may catergorize as disgusting and repulsive, Pakistan has received it as a blessing.
Many trees have died because the webs keep sunlight from reaching the leaves. But the webs have also helped trap more mosquitos in the region, reducing the risk of malaria, a usual by-product of such downpour.

"Normally after a flood, the remaining stagnant water provides more opportunities for mosquitoes to breed. But people in Sindh reported far fewer mosquitoes than expected following the recent crisis" (National Geographic).

What an ugly and beautiful blessing for the people of Sindh!