Photos: Swarms of locusts devastate parts of northern Kenya

Hopper bands of desert locust infest a grazing area in Nakukulas, Turkana County. Turkana is a vast, dry scrubland in northwest Kenya that borders Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia. Residents say the insects are devastating farmland and grazing areas.

Locust swarm around a tree in the town of Lodwar, Turkana. The branches on trees around Kenya's northern town of Lodwar have been stripped bare of leaves, bending downwards under the weight of voracious young locusts.

A farmer tries to shoo away hopper bands of desert locust damaging her maize crops in Kalemngorok, Turkana. Numbers of locusts exploded in East Africa and the Red Sea region in late 2019, exacerbated by atypical weather patterns amplified by climate change.

Locusts eat a papaya tree in Lodwar. Swarms of insects flew west from Yemen, and this year reached Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.

The new generation has hatched in Turkana, Kenya's poorest region.

The young locusts are eating everything in sight, and when their wings mature the swarms will be able to travel up to 130 kilometres in a day.

The hatchings have occurred as crops are planted in a region where 20 million people struggle for food. Above: A boy tries to chase away a locust swarm near the town of Lodwar.

Desert locusts are seen eating a maize plant. "The locusts have come to destabilise an already bad situation," said Daniel Kirura, head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Turkana.

Kirura fears the swarms will spread quickly and said teams are working frantically to spray them with insecticide before they become airborne.

"Within one week they may mature to swarms that may fly away," Kirura said. "Our wish is to control them before they leave Turkana."

Turkana is a vast, dry scrubland in northwest Kenya that borders Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia. Residents say the insects are devastating farmland and grazing areas.

"These things that jump up and down came here two days ago and have eaten all the trees," said Michael, near Turkana's capital Lodwar. "They have even finished grass for the goats." Residents are beating tin drums to scare away the insects.

"They have destroyed our maize, pawpaw tree," said Christopher Lotit. "So because they do not want noise, we use noise to get rid of them."

Locusts are seen after devastating a tomato farm near the town of Lodwar, Turkana. An increasing number of second-generation immature swarms of desert locust continue to form in northwest Kenya.

Locusts are seen after devastating a tomato farm near the town of Lodwar. The desert locust upsurge could have devastating consequences in already vulnerable regions, potentially causing large-scale crop damage and threatening food security in countries affected by recurrent drought, conflict, high food prices, as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A member of Kenya's NYS -National Youth Service- sprays pesticides in an area infested with hopper bands of desert locust in Lokichar, Turkana.

Hopper bands of desert locust infest a grazing area in Nakukulas, Turkana County. The Horn of Africa is facing the worst desert locust crisis in over 25 years, and the most serious in 70 years for Kenya.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Kenya’s (GoK) have joined efforts as part of its action plan aimed at boosting ground and aerial surveillance on Desert Locusts.

This handout picture released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)shows a member of Kenya's NYS -National Youth Service- sprays pesticides in a farm in Nakukulas.

FAO has supported governments in scaling up control activities on the fight against Desert Locusts while launching an urgent appeal to support and contain the upsurge and anticipate devastating impacts on livelihoods and food security.

A Turkana man walks through a locust swarm near the town of Lodwar, Turkana county.