Comes as locust swarms in parts of East Africa threatens a humanitarian crisis

'We are facing the worst locust infestation in more than 2 decades,' minister said

Pakistan declares national emergency after country is hit by locust plague

A locust plague is wreaking havoc in Pakistan as 'unprecedented and alarming' swarms ravage crops as shocking video shows millions of the insects sweeping through Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan's government declared a national emergency at the weekend after an infestation of desert locusts arrived in eastern Pakistan.

It comes as locusts have been decimating crops and livestock pastureland in east Africa, including swarms 40 miles wide.

A farmer holds a locust at a feild in the Pakistan's port city of Karachi on November 11, 2019

Pakistani children try to avoid locusts swarming in Rahimyar Khan, Pakistan

Locusts fly over the National Cricket Stadium in the Pakistan's port city of Karachi

The swarm has been wreaking havoc in eastern Pakistan and destroying crops including cotton, wheat, maize.

'We are facing the worst locust infestation in more than two decades and have decided to declare national emergency to deal with the threat,' Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan announced on Saturday.

According to National Food Security Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bak­h­tiar, the locusts were currently at the Cholistan Desert close to the Pakistan-India border. The locusts arrived in Pakistan from Iran in June.

'The locust attack is unprecedented and alarming,' Bak­h­tiar told Pakistani lawmakers on Friday. Pakistan last saw a serious locust infestation in 1993.

Meanwhile swarms of locusts have been milling the skies in Saudi Arabia, with one video circulating online showing the sky saturated with the insects.

Another shows a tree in Saudi Arabia crawling with desert locusts, which consume their own bodyweight in food each day.

Desert locusts jump up from the ground in Nasuulu Conservancy, northern Kenya on February 1

A group of desert locusts mate on the ground in Nasuulu Conservancy. Locusts have been decimating crops and livestock pastureland in east Africa, including swarms 40 miles wide

A desert locust feeds on an Acacia tree in Nasuulu Conservancy. Pakistan's government declared a national emergency at the weekend after an infestation of desert locusts arrived in the country's east

A farmer's son raises his arms as he is surrounded by desert locusts while trying to chase them away from his crops, in Katitika village, Kitui county, Kenya

The UN has warned that the locust plague in East African countries including Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia could trigger a humanitarian crisis.

The horde of 360 billion insects has laid waste to farmland and caused damage in Dijibouti and Eritrea, posing an unprecedented threat to food security.

As locusts by the billions descend on parts of Kenya in the worst outbreak in 70 years, small planes are flying low over affected areas to spray pesticides in what experts call the only effective control.

It is the worst to affect Ethiopia and Somalia for 25 years, and could grow 500 times bigger by June when the next generation hatches.

A local farmer Theophilus Mwendwa tries to chase away a swarm of desert locusts in the bush near Enziu, Kitui County, some 200km east of the capital Nairobi, Kenya

Men run through a swarm of desert locusts to chase them away in the bush near Enziu, Kitui County, some 200km east of the capital Nairobi

Desert locusts jump up from the ground and fly away as a cameraman walks past, in Nasuulu Conservancy, northern Kenya

A desert locust feeds on a plant in Nasuulu Conservancy, northern Kenya

Ranger Gabriel Lesoipa is surrounded by desert locusts as he and a ground team relay the coordinates of the swarm to a plane spraying pesticides, in Nasuulu Conservancy, northern Kenya

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations director-general Qu Dongyu has called for urgent funding to help it provide security for the region. It has already used $15.4million of the $76million it has requested to tackle the emerging crisis in the five countries.

The next generation of desert locusts, a million of which can eat enough food for 35,000 people in just one day, are expected to be ready to swarm in April, which coincides with the planting season.

Speaking at an informal briefing in Rome, Ms Dongyu warned: 'I hope we can work hard day and night so people do not lose their crops. Timing and location is crucial.'

The FAO's deputy director-general for climate and natural resources, Maria Semedo, warned that countries need to act 'immediately' because 'locusts don't wait. They will come and they will destroy.

'We need to tackle the emergency but we need to think about livelihoods and the long-term.'

The organisation estimated that as many as 12 million people are coping with severe acute food insecurity and many rely on agriculture for their survival.

Their locust information service describes the current situation as 'extremely alarming' and likely to be further exacerbated by new infestations.

When rains arrive in March and bring new vegetation across much of the region, the numbers of the fast-breeding locusts could grow 500 times before drier weather in June curbs their spread, the United Nations says

A farmer walks through swarms of desert locusts feeding on her crops, in Katitika village, Kitui county

Farmer Theophilus Mwendwa tries to chase away a swarm of desert locusts in the bush near Enziu, Kitui County, 200km east of the capital Nairobi

The locust swarms have increased significantly over the past month in across 13 Kenyan counties including Isiolo, Samburu, Wajir, Garissa, Tana River, Marsabit, Laikipia, Mandera, Kitui, Baringo, Meru, Embu and Turkana.

These same counties have experienced devastating droughts and floods in recent years and over three million people there have been facing extreme levels of food insecurity.

The swarms are destroying pasture for livestock, which will likely devastate the upcoming planting season.

In Somalia, tens of thousands of hectares of land have been affected in Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug (Mudug), as mature swarms hit the Garbahare area near the Kenyan border.

A desert locust sits on a tree branch in Katitika village, Kitui county, Kenya. Even a small swarm of the insects can consume enough food for 35,000 people in a single day, said Jens Laerke of the UN humanitarian office in Geneva

The creatures (pictured in Katitika village, Kenya) have invaded the East African country from Somalia and Ethiopia, destroying farmland and threatening an already vulnerable region with devastating hunger

Locusts are also reported to be travelling south to Somalia's Gedo region leaving a trail of destroyed farms.

Operations are underway in the northeast (Puntland) to control the swarms that continue to move towards the central and southern areas.

Insecurity in some of these parts is hampering efforts to survey and control the infestations.