Swarms of locusts seen in Dubai, municipality says: Situation under control

Swarms of locusts appeared in Dubai on Sunday, with many people sharing pictures and videos on social media. The emirate's municipality said that situation was under control.

The municipality told local media on Monday the high winds that hit Dubai on the first day of Eid al-Fitr carried the locusts into some areas of the emirate.

“Pest control teams are intensifying their efforts to eliminate them permanently… The situation is under control and there’s no need to worry,” the municipality told Emarat Al Youm.

In early May, Abu Dhabi officials said they detected swarms of locusts in Al Yasat Reserve and al-Sila area which is close to the UAE’s border with Saudi Arabia.

In February, billions of locusts swarmed areas of Saudi Arabia and the country launched intensive operations to exterminate the locusts from over 100,000 hectares of land across several areas in the Kingdom.

Riyadh farm blanketed by dead locusts after Saudi ministry intervenes

Desert locusts – whose destructive infestations cause major crop damage – are a species of grasshopper that live largely solitary lives until a combination of conditions promotes breeding and leads them to form massive swarms.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization had said in its locust forecast until mid-June, that locust infestations will increase and extend further to areas in the Horn of Africa and southwest Asia.

“Breeding in the Arabian Peninsula caused hopper bands (masses of the “hopper” type of locusts) to form in parts of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and UAE, and hopper and adult groups in northern Oman.”

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