Locust swarms that wreaked havoc in the northern state of Haryana over the weekend have now entered the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh.

Footage filmed on June 30 shows locusts filling the sky over Agra, the fourth-most populous city in Uttar Pradesh.

According to the agriculture department, 60 per cent of locusts have been killed using crop-destroying pests.

SN Singh, the assistant director of the agriculture department told local media: “Around 60 per cent of locusts have been killed. Four drones given by the central government are being used to spray insecticides.”

Desert locusts can cause widespread damage to crops and can fly up to 150 kilometres a day.

Locust swarms that wreaked havoc in farmland and cities like Rewari, Jhajjar and Gurugram in Haryana over the weekend have entered areas of Uttar Pradesh, the leading sugar producing state in the country.

The swarm entered on 29th June (Monday) had spread over most of Agra and farmers spent the entire night and most of Tuesday morning making noises and lighting fires in their fields to ward off the locusts with smoke.

Authorities fear a serious threat to crops in these regions as the Kharif sowing is in full swing due to favorable monsoon rainfall.

The district agriculture department had sprayed pesticides in the fields in these villages but it did not have much effect on the locust.

As swarms of locusts continue to invade parts of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, the agriculture department of Agra claims they have destroyed 60% of the locust by spraying crop-destroying pests using drones and disinfectant chemicals.

Fear of locusts has grown wider in the country. Locals were scared after locusts were spotted in huge numbers and attacked crops.

The desert locust is a species of locusts, a swarming short-horned grasshopper. They fly in swarms potentially containing hundreds of millions of individual desert locusts and can move 150 kilometers a day.