Huge swarms of locusts enter Delhi – Gurgaon

Thousands of crop-destroying desert locusts were seen in the sky in Gurugram today as residents rushed to shut their windows and doors to prevent the insects from entering their houses. Many residents made clanging noises by beating utensils to ward the insects off while other areas bellowed sirens from their buildings.

India has not seen locust swarms on this scale since 1993 when it experienced a widespread plague, the warning centre had said. Wind patterns have been pushing the swarms southwest, the locust warning centre added.

Massive swarms of desert locusts have been destroying crops in many parts of western and central India, spearing into Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab now, after Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. The central government has set up 11 control rooms to coordinate the response.

Locusts form swarms in Africa and fly from Iran, Pakistan to India. They are known to have an enormous appetite. They eat plants and can wreck massive damage to crops in days if left unchecked.