General Situation during January 2016
Forecast until mid-March 2016
Desert Locust breeding continued during January in north and northwest Mauritania and in adjacent areas of Western Sahara where locusts formed small groups. Limited ground control operations were carried out in these areas.
Breeding is likely to continue during the forecast period, which may cause a further increase in locust numbers and the formation of hopper and adult groups. As temperatures increase, some adults may move to spring breeding areas south of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and Algeria.
Only low numbers of locusts persisted in parts of the winter breeding areas along both sides of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in Sudan, Eritrea Saudi Arabia, Yemen and northern Somalia. Unless further rains fall, breeding should decline in these areas. The situation remained calm in southwest Asia.