Huge swarms of locusts descend on Egypt and around the Red Sea and are set to devastate crops, UN warns

A locust outbreak in Sudan and Eritrea is spreading rapidly along both sides of the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said.

Periods of rain along the Red Sea coastal plains in Eritrea and Sudan have allowed two generations of breeding since October, leading to a substantial increase in locust populations and the formation of highly mobile swarms.

The increase in locusts in the area could pose a possible threat to crops and food security, the organisation warned

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Spreading: Locusts and their movement near the Red Sea from the beginning of the year

At least one swarm had crossed to the northern coast of Saudi Arabia in mid-January, with further swarms a week later.

Rains from two cyclones in 2018 had triggered breeding of locusts in the Empty Quarter region of Saudi Arabia, near the Yemen-Oman border, and a few swarms from two generations of breeding had reached the United Arab Emirates and southern Iran.

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