General Situation during August 2016 Forecast until mid-October 2016
The Desert Locust situation remained very serious in Yemen during August. Another generation of breeding occurred, causing hopper bands to form in the interior and on the southern coast; however, the situation remained unclear because it was not safe to carry out surveys. At least one swarm reached northern Somalia, eastern Ethiopia and perhaps Djibouti. Control operations were initiated in Pakistan and Ethiopia. There remains a risk that more swarms could form in Yemen and move to the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea coast. All countries should remain extremely vigilant. Elsewhere the situation remained calm. Low numbers of adults were widely distributed throughout the summer breeding area of the northern Sahel in West Africa and Sudan, and along the Indo-Pakistan border due to widespread rainfall and favourable ecological conditions. During the forecast period, small-scale breeding will continue in these areas, causing locust numbers to increase, and a few adult groups could appear in west and northwest Mauritania by mid-October.
