Home GCC Saudi Arabia Video: Swarms of locusts invade Saudi city Saudi has seen locust outbreaks since the start of this year by Aarti Nagraj May 7, 2019 Swarms of locusts descended on the Saudi city of Najran last week, with similar infestations expected to continue over the next two months. Videos shared on social media by the Najran residents showed the skies darkened by millions of the insects. pic.twitter.com/WCxn5ZoLjv — كوكتيل / cocktail (@coctaill1) April 29, 2019 Footage also showed thousands of locusts clinging to trees in the city. جراد بلكريك كل يابو يمن يهناك pic.twitter.com/kkEGwk6LHE — فارس اليمني (@1v3xEaCmb5irNdA) April 29, 2019 The municipality has deployed workers to fumigate the streets to rid the city of the insects. جانب من أعمال إدارة الصحة العامة بوكالة الخدمات ، للحد من التلوث ومكافحة الحشرات ، داخل المدينة.#أمانة_منطقة_نجران pic.twitter.com/4NuMkMMklN — أمانة منطقة نجران (@NajranMunicipal) May 5, 2019 Saudi Arabia has seen an outbreak of locusts and black crickets intermittently since the start of this year after the insects moved from Eritrea and Sudan along both sides of the Red Sea to Saudi and Egypt. “Good rains 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 UN Food and Agriculture Organization said in February. At least one swarm had crossed to the northern coast of Saudi Arabia in mid-January, it said. Read: UN warns of locust outbreak spreading across Saudi Arabia Images circulated in January showed swarms of black crickets covering the Grand Mosque in Saudi’s Makkah. They were later cleared up through fumigation. Read: Makkah clears up swarms of black crickets at the Grand Mosque, across the city In April, the insects descended on the city of Madinah, and the municipality engaged hundreds of workers to clear them off the streets. Read: Video: Prophet’s Mosque in Saudi’s Madinah infested by swarms of crickets Saudi’s ministry of Environment has warned that the locust swarms are expected to continue to invade the kingdom for two months. It also urged citizens and residents not to eat locusts because they were contaminated by toxic pesticides. Adult locust swarms can fly up to 150 km a day with the wind and adult insects can consume roughly their own weight in fresh food per day. Tags black crickets locust outbreak locusts locusts Saudi Arabia Najran Saudi Saudi Arabia swarm of locusts 0 Comments You might also like Saudi Arabia’s Mawani signs four contracts worth SAR1bn GCC region M&A blazes trail as global deals decline Top marks for GCC nations in digital connectivity index Saudi Arabia studies graphite, rare earths trading platform