Another locust attack likely in July this year: UN

New Delhi : The Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO) has issued a warning that India may face another locust attack in coming month (July).

In its situation update on Thursday, FAO said early migration of spring-bred locust swarms from southwest Pakistan to Rajasthan occurred in May before the monsoon, and some swarms travelled to northern states for the first time since 1962.

While the swarms will oscillate east and westwards before returning to lay eggs with the onset of the monsoon in Rajasthan’s deserts, successive waves of swarms will arrive from southern Iran in June and the “Horn of Africa” peninsula in July, according to FAO.

According to the data provided by the experts, the locusts in India had entered from Pakistan in April this year.

The existing swarms too came from “Horn of Africa”.

“In East Africa, second-generation breeding is underway in northwest Kenya and numerous hopper bands have formed that will give rise to immature swarms from the second week of June until at least mid-July.

“A similar situation is underway in Somalia and Ethiopia. Most of the new swarms will migrate northwards from Kenya to Ethiopia and traverse South Sudan to Sudan after mid-June while other swarms will move to northern Ethiopia. Swarms that reach northeast Somalia are likely to migrate across the northern Indian Ocean to the Indo-Pakistan border area,” FAO said.

Locust presence was seen in parts of Vindhya, Bundelkhand and Gwalior-Chambal regions of Madhya Pradesh on Friday. In Rajasthan, places such as Barmer, Pali, Jodhpur, Jalore, Nagaur and Bikaner reported locust swarms.