Saturday, November 25, 2017

In Some Positive News, The Desert Locust Situation Remains Calm

This post is just a placeholder for the  December and March Locust forecasts, an aide-mémoire for yours truly as much as anything.
From Locust Watch at the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization:

Desert Locust situation update 3 November 2017
Small-scale breeding in progress but situation remains calm
The Desert Locust situation continues to remain calm.

Seasonal rains have ended in the summer breeding areas of the Sahel in West Africa and Sudan as well as along the Indo-Pakistan border. Consequently, vegetation is nearly dry and locust numbers have declined with only a few small infestations remaining in northern Niger, the extreme south of Algeria, southern Mauritania and in Cholistan, Pakistan.

Most of the summer-bred locust adults moved from southern Mauritania to the western part of the country where small-scale breeding is in progress but locust numbers remain low. This breeding is expected to continue during November and could extend into northwest Mauritania and adjacent areas of the southern Western Sahara.

In the winter breeding areas along the coastal plains of the Red Sea, small-scale breeding is expected to commence in Sudan and Saudi Arabia during November, causing locust numbers to increase slightly. Breeding is probably already in progress on the coast of Yemen but this has not been confirmed because field surveys cannot be conducted due to insecurity. In Eritrea, a second generation of breeding is thought to be underway in one area on the Red Sea coast near Massawa where good rains have fallen since May. This will continue during November, causing locust numbers to increase with the possibility of small groups forming. Strict vigilance is required.
http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/common/ecg/75/en/171103DLrisk.jpg

Here's the last Desert Locust Bulletin with forecast to mid-December