General Situation during July 2017 Forecast until mid-September 2017
The Desert Locust situation continued to remain calm during July. Control operations were undertaken in Iran and, to a lesser extent, in Algeria where small-scale breeding had occurred.
Low numbers of adults appeared in the summer breeding areas of Mauritania, Sudan and along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border. Good rains fell in all summer breeding areas of the Sahel in West Africa and Sudan, in the interior of Yemen and along the Indo-Pakistan border. Consequently, small-scale breeding is expected to occur in all of these areas during the forecast period, causing locust numbers to increase slightly. Regular surveys should be conducted in all areas wherever possible.
Western Region. The situation remained calm during July. Scattered mature solitarious adults mixed with solitarious hoppers of all instars were present in a few places in the Central Sahara of Algeria where 3 ha were treated. Isolated mature solitarious adults appeared in the summer breeding areas of southeastern Mauritania as well as in central areas which is somewhat unusual. For the second consecutive month, good rains fell throughout the northern Sahel of West Africa because the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) was much further north than normal. Consequently, small-scale breeding will cause locust numbers to increase slightly between Mauritania and Chad during the forecast period.
Central Region. The locust situation remained calm in the region during July. Low numbers of solitarious adults were present in the interior of Sudan where good rains fell and small-scale breeding is expected to cause locust numbers to increase slightly during the forecast period. Good rains also fell in the interior of Yemen but surveys could not confi rm the situation due to prevailing insecurity. Nevertheless, adults are probably present and small-scale breeding is likely to occur, which will cause a further increase in locust numbers.
Eastern Region. Control operations continued during the fi rst decade of July in southeast Iran where 8,500 ha of hoppers and adults were treated in the Jaz Murian Basin. Although above-normal monsoon rains fell in the summer breeding areas along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border, only isolated adults have been seen in a few places in both countries.
Nevertheless, locust numbers are expected to increase slightly as a result of small-scale breeding during the forecast period.
In the Eastern Region, good monsoon rains continued to fall in the summer breeding areas along both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border in Rajasthan, India and from Tharparkar to Cholistan in Pakistan.
The rains were heaviest and most widespread during the second and third decades. Cumulative seasonal rainfall in Rajasthan was up to 400% above normal in some areas. In Iran, very little rain fell in the southeast during July, however small areas of vegetation remained green in the Jaz Murian Basin near Halil River from runoff.