Control operations continue on both sides of the Red Sea
The Desert Locust situation remains worrisome in the winter breeding areas along both sides of the Red Sea. Ecological conditions continue to be favourable for another generation of breeding that could produce more hopper bands and swarms in Yemen, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia and, to a lesser extent, in Sudan.
In Saudi Arabia, ground control operations continue against hopper groups and bands and groups of mature adults between Lith and Jizan. Some groups are laying eggs and one mature swarm was reported.
In Sudan, ground and aerial control operations continue against groups of adults that are maturing on the southern coast between Tokar Delta and the Eritrea border, and egg-laying is in process. A mature swarm was seen laying eggs in the Tokar Delta. Ground control operations are also in progress in sub-coastal areas of the northeast against hopper bands and groups of immature adults near Tomala.
In West Africa, scattered immature adults are present in northwest Mauritania and one immature swarm formed in the Banc d’Arguin National Park. In Niger, ground teams treated a few adult groups in the Ténéré Desert.
