Beware! Bahrain bracing possible locust attack!

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain is bracing for a possible invasion of locusts this week with strong winds from Saudi Arabia expected to carry swarms of the insects.

According to the Locust Information Service of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the strong southern winds carried a few small swarms of locusts into Saudi Arabia and arrived north of Riyadh about a week ago.

With strong winds continuing, a swarm has already reached Kuwait this week.

Since Sunday, the winds have shifted and come from the northwest, allowing a low-to-medium capacity to transport a very limited number of small swarms to the coastal plains along both sides of the Arabian Gulf and eastern Saudi Arabia.

The Agriculture and Marine Resources Department at the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry is following developments in some affected regions in the Kingdom.

There is no need to panic as the department is continuously communicating with the National Centre for Locust Research and Control in Saudi Arabia to exchange information regarding developments of locust outbreaks in the region.

Locusts reach Bahrain from time to time, and even if it is often not dangerous, the Marine Resources Department is warning farmers about the locust threat.

Teams from the Plant Protection and Quarantine section are ready to spray the locust-affected areas should farmers spot locusts on their land and attack their crops.

Locust swarms can fly up to 150km (90 miles) a day with the wind, and adult insects can consume roughly their own weight in fresh food per day.

Back in February, a huge swarm of locusts stopped traffic on a major highway in Bahrain, as the insects entered the country on high winds, ironically coming back home to the region where the original plague began back in January 2019.

Image Credit - Reuters