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Billions of locusts have blitzed through parts of East Africa and South Asia in the worst infestation for a quarter-of-a-century, ravaging crops and threatening food supplies. In January, the UN appealed for $76million (£59million) to tackle the crisis, but the figure has since risen to $138million (£115million). The insects, which eat their own body weight in food every day, are breeding so fast numbers could grow four hundredfold by June.

End of the world: Bible passage on 'locust plague and epidemic

Until now, the main threats have been in East Africa and Yemen, as well as the Gulf states, Iran, Pakistan and India, but the coronavirus pandemic means travel of international experts and in-country gatherings for training is affected.

Keith Cressman, a senior Locust Forecasting at the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation, says there are new “extremely alarming” swarms forming in the Horn of Africa.

His department, Locust Watch, works in collaboration with affected countries to assess field data, information and reports in real-time where they are heading.

Mr Cressman told the Times of Israel this week: “The information is combined with analysis of remote sensing (satellite) imagery, weather data and forecasts, and historical data in our geographic information system and database that go back to the Thirties.