Wind Settings in the Conduits of the Locust Swarms during a Amphan Cyclone

The desert locust, <i>Schistocerca gregaria</i> Forsk. (Orthoptera: Acrididae) is a peculiar insect that exhibits density-dependent phase polyphenism. Gregarious phase enables desert locust to form a huge group and embark on mass migrations during which significant crop loss and deterioration in food security issues may occur. Currently, the most recent upsurge of desert locust is speeding across Eastern Africa and Southwestern Asia. Usually desert locusts are restricted to regions like semi-arid and arid regions. External factors related to the landscape conditions, wind settings, availability of vegetation, and air temperatures trigger the swarm migration for long distance travels. A super cyclonic storm, namely Amphan originated during May 2020, in the Bay of Bengal of North Indian Ocean basin has influenced numerous swarms to migrate from the Thar desert region to various parts of India. Satellite data were used to investigate the reasons for this sudden swarm migration. The results revealed the wind jets passing above the Thar desert region have integrated with the cyclogenesis of Amphan which led to the formation of conduits with favourable ecological conditions that acted as an external trigger for successful migration.<br>These data sets represents the wind setting in both the conduits. The data contains Mean wind speed and direction in both the conduits during the living and decay phase of the Amphan Cyclone.