Desert Locust Monitoring in Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Yemen in 2024/9(Spatial resolution-500m)

In September 2024, increased rainfall in the northwestern regions of Somalia and along the northern coastal areas of Gulf of Aden provided favorable conditions for desert locusts to lay eggs and reproduce, leading to a rise in their population. Monitoring results indicated that in September, desert locusts affected 13.8 thousand hectares of vegetation in Somalia, including 4.4 thousand hectares of grassland and 9.4 thousand hectares of shrubland (Figure 1), accounting for 0.01% and 0.04% of the total areas of grassland and shrubland, respectively. The Sanaag region experienced the most extensive damage, with 8.7 thousand hectares affected, followed by the Awdal region, with 3.7 thousand hectares impacted, and the North-West region, with 1.4 thousand hectares affected.