General Situation during December 2013
Forecast until mid-February 2014
**The Desert Locust situation remained critical along both sides of the Red Sea in December. Hopper and adult groups, hopper bands, and swarms formed in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Eritrea. Smaller infestations were present in Sudan. Control operations were carried out in all countries. As ecological conditions remain favourable, a second generation of breeding will cause locust numbers to increase further and more bands swarms are expected to form. The outbreak in northwest Mauritania has nearly come to an end as a result of intensive control efforts. Nevertheless, small-scale breeding is likely to occur in those areas that remain favourable in the coming months. A number of locust reports in northern Somalia are in the process of being confirmed. Heavy rains associated with a cyclone fell over much of the territory in November.
