A locust swarm, described as a “biblical” invasion, destroys crops and destroys livestock in Sardinia.

Coldiretti, the Italian agricultural association, says millions of locusts do "significant damage" to the island, creating the risk of "serious damage to part of the crop."

Particularly affected by the locust invasion, which experts have called the worst invasion of 60 years, agricultural areas near the city of Nuoro.

The local newspaper La Nuova Sardegna reports that some plots of 2,000 hectares of land have turned into "locust carpets", which are "almost biblical" proportions.

Leonardo Salis, president of Coldiretti’s Nuoro division, said the locust “devours everything it encounters,” and in some cases “leaves animals without pasture.” And he added: "We turned to institutions at all levels - municipal, provincial and regional - to solve this problem."

Locust expert Alexander Lachininsky, an employee of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, said the reasons for the large number of locusts are not clear.

However, Coldiretti claims that sudden high temperatures after the cold of May are to blame.

The Italian Agricultural Association says that locust-laid eggs in the fall may have matured as a result of sudden heat, prompting new insects to search for food.