Locust
Situation update 2 July 2008
Legend: 
adults groups 
swarms 
hoppers 
bands
Swarms may appear in eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia
The Desert Locust situation has remained calm during the past month. Ground control operations against hopper groups ended in the spring breeding areas in southeast Iran. Limited control was carried out against groups of adults in the central Sahara in Algeria last month.
This is the time of year when locusts appear in the summer breeding areas in the northern Sahel that stretch from Mauritania to western Eritrea as well as in the interior of Yemen and along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border. So far, only low and insignificant numbers have been reported in northern Niger, southern Algeria, southern Egypt, Yemen and in Pakistan. Although breeding occurred earlier than usual in Pakistan, most of the breeding is expected to occur during July and August which coincides with the seasonal rains. As a result, locusts numbers will increase slightly in the all of the breeding areas during this summer.
The current situation is less clear in Ethiopia where several large swarms were present in the south during the spring. Regular surveys are hampered by the rough terrain and insecurity. Yet there is a low to moderate risk that some swarms are still in the Harar Highlands which are likely to move north and east to the Ogaden region and to northern Somalia.
On 1 July, a swarm was seen flying over Hargeisa in northern Somalia moving from the southwest to the northeast. The prevailing winds will continue in this direction for most of July. Consequently, a few more small swarms and adults could move out of the highlands and spread across eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia, and perhaps reach the northern coast and cross the Gulf of Aden to southern Yemen in the coming weeks. If they find favourable conditions in any of the above areas, the adults will mature rapidly and lay eggs that will hatch after two weeks.
Therefore, national teams in Ethiopia, northern Somalia and Yemen are advised to be on high alert and to increase ground surveys in order to clarify the current situation and monitor its developments.
Source: FAO Desert Locust Information Service Copyright: © FAO, 2004