FAO :: Locust Watch :: Archives :: Upsurges :: 1996-1998 :: Overview
Desert Locust upsurge in 1996-98: Overview (1)
 

In the Central Region, control of 1996 spring breeding continued until June in Oman and Saudi Arabia. Hoppers and immature adults on the Batinah Coast, Oman began to gregarize as vegetation dried out in May and ground and aerial teams treated 4000 ha. Ground teams treated 500 ha of scattered adults near Qunfidah on the Tihama of Saudi Arabia in May and June. This left only low numbers of locusts present in the Region. A cyclone then brought widespread rain to Oman and Yemen and initiated an upsurge in Arabia. Swarms from this upsurge may have spread to Sudan in May 1997 and an upsurge continued in both areas until the end of spring breeding 1998.