Swarms of locusts have devastated thousands of hectares of farmland in India. Source: BBC

Swarms of locusts have devastated thousands of hectares of farmland in the northwestern Indian state of Gujarat.

Experts call this the largest locust "invasion" in the region in the past 25 years.

According to local authorities, huge swarms of locusts have ravaged six districts of Gujarat state. In one district alone, more than 5,000 hectares of agricultural land have been destroyed.

So far, only about 25% of the locusts have been killed with pesticides and it will take another 4-5 days to completely eliminate this crop-damaging insect.

It is expected that in the coming days, 100 pesticide spraying equipment will be brought to the affected areas to repel the locust "invasion".

The locusts initially flew towards Pakistan but due to changes in wind direction and humidity, they landed in Gujarat state. Entomologists said it was a locust plague.uThe most severe occurred in Gujarat since 1994.

Locusts do not pose a threat to human and livestock health, but they are harmful to agriculture and cause inconvenience to people's daily lives. They eat all kinds of plants, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds and stems.