AKIPRESS.COM - At least 125 people are now reported to have died in fierce dust storms in northern India, with officials warning of more bad weather to come, BBC reports.

High-speed winds and lightning have devastated many villages, brought down walls and left scores injured.

A spokesperson for the Uttar Pradesh relief commissioner's office told AFP the death toll was the highest from such storms in at least 20 years.

Officials have said the death toll could rise over the coming days.

"People should be alert," the relief commissioner's office told AFP.

In the two states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, the storm has brought down electricity, uprooted trees, destroyed houses and killed livestock.