Lightning Strike

The killer bolt: Lightning strikes now India's deadliest weather hazard

Lightning, a sudden discharge of electricity during thunderstorms, requires four conditions: intense heating, high humidity, atmospheric instability, and a trigger such as low pressure

Lightning kills 19 in Bihar, CM Nitish Kumar announces ₹4,00,000 ex-gratia

The Bihar government has appealed to the public to stay indoors and stay safe during bad weather conditions

Lightning strikes Bihar, 13 killed; CM announces Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia

The deaths were reported from Buxar (4 deaths), West Champaran (3), Katihar (2), and one each from Kaimur, Lakhisarai, and Sitamarhi districts

Lightning claim 28 more lives in 2024 compared to 2023 in Marathwada

The death toll due to lightning strikes in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has gone up by 28 to 76 in 2024 compared to the previous year, officials said. As per an official report, 48 people had died in 2023 in all eight districts of Marathwada due to lightning strikes. The total number of fatalities due to flood and other monsoon-related calamities also climbed by 47 to 126 in 2024, it said. The highest number of 15 deaths in 2024 due to lightning strikes was recorded in Latur district, followed by Jalna (12), Beed (11), Parbhani and Nanded (10 each), Dharashiv (4) and Hingoli (3).

Storm, lightning kill 22 in Bihar's Nalanda; CM announces ₹4 lakh ex-gratia

Of the total casualties, 21 people died as a result of the thunderstorm, while one person succumbed to injuries caused by lightning, the DM said

Lightning kills 13 in Bihar, CM Nitish announces ₹4 lakh aid to each family

As per the CMO, five people were killed in Begusarai, four in Darbhanga, and three in Madhubani, while Samastipur recorded one fatality

7 killed, 3 injured in lightning strike in Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar

Seven men were killed and three injured after they were struck by lightning in Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar-Bhatapara district on Sunday, officials said. The incident took place this evening in Mohtara village when the victims were working in a field, a district administration official said. "As per preliminary information, these persons gathered at the edge of a pond near their field amid heavy rainfall when lightning struck. The deceased were identified as Mukesh (20), Tankar Sahu (30), Santosh Sahu (40), Thaneshwar Sahu (18), Pokhraj Vishwakarma (38), Dev Das (22) and Vijay Sahu (23)," he said. The three injured persons have been hospitalised, the official added.

Study finds alarming rise in lightning deaths in India between 2010-20

The decade from 2010 to 2020 has been the "deadliest" with an "alarming" spike in deaths due to lightning incidents, according to an analysis of the data shared by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The data showed a rise in the average annual fatalities per state and union territory from 38 during 1967-2002 to 61 in the period from 2003-2020, the research showed. Additionally, average deaths due to lightning in Indian states and union territories (UTs) almost tripled from 28 in 1986 to 81 in 2016, it noted. A team of researchers, including those from Fakir Mohan University in Odisha, found that lightning caused 1,01,309 deaths between 1967 and 2020, with an "alarming development" from 2010-2010, showing the highest increase. "The data show an increase in the average annual fatalities per states and UTs from 38 in the period 1967 to 2002, to 61 from 2003 to 2020. Notably, the decade from 2010 to 2020 emerges as the deadliest in terms of lightning incidents," the authors wrot

Sprites spotted over Himalayas? Photographer captures rare gigantic jets

The image shared by NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day last week shows gigantic jets shooting up from a thunderstorm towards the Himalayan mountains

Lightning, rains kill 49 in Pak, state of emergency declared in southwest

Lightning and heavy rains have killed at least 49 people across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities in the country's southwest declared a state of emergency. Some deaths occurred when lightning struck farmers harvesting wheat. Rains caused dozens of houses to collapse in the northwest and in eastern Punjab province. Arfan Kathia, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority, said 21 people had died in Punjab, where more rains were expected this week. Khursheed Anwar, a spokesman for the disaster management authority in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said 21 people died there. Rain also lashed the capital, Islamabad, and killed seven people in southwestern Baluchistan province. Streets flooded in the northwestern city of Peshawar and in Quetta, the Baluchistan capital. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in televised remarks that he had ordered authorities to provide relief aid. Pakistan's water ...

Lightning strikes claimed 1,472 lives in state in 5 years: Odisha minister

Lightning strikes have claimed 1,472 lives and left 145 people injured in Odisha in the last five years, state Revenue & Disaster Management Minister Sudam Marndi told the Odisha assembly on Wednesday. Replying to a query by Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, the minister said the state government had declared lightning as a disaster in June 2015. An ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each has been paid to the next of kin of those killed in lightning strikes in accordance with state disaster response fund guidelines, he said. Similarly, a compensation of Rs 2.50 lakh is being provided to any person in case he or she loses an eye (s) or any other organ leading to a disability of more than 60 per cent due to a lightning strike, he added. If the disability is between 40 per cent and 60 per cent, the compensation amount is Rs 74,000, he said. The government has also made a provision for a compensation of Rs 16,000 if a person requires hospitalisation for more than a week due to a lightning ...

Amit Shah expresses grief as 20 killed in lightning strike in Gujarat

Twenty people have been killed in lightning strikes in different parts of Gujarat during widespread unseasonal rainfall in the state, an official said Monday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah condoled the deaths due to bad weather and lightning in various cities of Gujarat on Sunday and said the local administration was engaged in relief work. As per an official of the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), a total of 20 rain-related deaths have been reported so far from different parts of Gujarat. All the fatalities were attributed to lightning strikes during unseasonal rainfall which battered the state on Sunday. Four persons died in Dahod district, three in Bharuch, two in Tapi, and one each in Ahmedabad, Amreli, Banaskantha, Botad, Kheda, Mehsana, Panchmahal, Sabarkantha, Surat, Surendranagar and Devbhumi Dwarka, the SEOC official said. Union minister Amit Shah in a post on X on Sunday night said, "I am deeply saddened by the news of the death of many people due to bad weather

8 killed in lightning strikes, crops damaged as unseasonal rains hit Guj

At least eight people were killed in lightning strikes and crops damaged in several areas of Gujarat after the state received widespread unseasonal rains accompanied by thunderstorms on Sunday, officials said. As per data compiled by the State Emergency Operation Centre, 220 of 251 talukas of Gujarat received up to 50 mm of rainfall in 10 hours since 6 am on Sunday, throwing normal life out of gear and causing damages to crops. Ahmedabad city received 15 mm of rainfall in two hours in the morning. The city received more showers in the evening, keeping people indoors on a weekend. Rains and hailstorms hit Rajkot, where locals were seen rejoicing at the scene created by the unseasonal rains. Standing crops apart, the rains also affected the ceramic industry of Morbi district in Saurashtra region as factories were forced to remain shut, officials said. Accompanied by gusty wind, lightning and thunderstorm, the untimely rains left at least eight people dead in Mehsana, Dahod, Sabarkan

Heavy rain, lightning kills 8 people in Jharkhand in last 24 hrs: Official

At least eight people were killed including one in Ranchi due to heavy rain and lightning strikes in Jharkhand in the last 24 hours, an official said on Monday. Parts of Jharkhand have been receiving incessant rains since Saturday evening with several spells of heavy rains, which damaged several culverts, diversions and also claimed several lives. A 28-year-old man fell in an overflowing drain in Hatma Saraitand in Ranchi's Lalpur area on Sunday. The body of the person, identified as Dev Prasad alias Chotu, was recovered around 2.5 km away from the place of occurrence on Monday morning. "The body of the person was recovered this morning and postmortem has also been carried out. He had fallen in an overflowing drain triggered by heavy rain on Sunday," Gonda police station in-charge Ravi Thakur told PTI. In Jhakhand's Jamtara district, a woman and her three children, aged between one-and-a-half years and seven years, were killed in lightning strike on Sunday, police said. The inciden

Cloud-to-ground flashes increase by 53% from 2019 to 2023, shows data

MP, UP, Bihar make up over 60% of lightning-related fatalities

10 killed in lightning strikes in six districts of Odisha: Official

At least 10 people were killed in lightning strikes in six districts of Odisha, which witnessed heavy rainfall on Saturday, an official said. Lightning strikes claimed the lives of four people in Khurda district, two in Bolangir and one each in Angul, Boudh, Jagatsinghpur and Dhenkanal, the office of the special relief commissioner said. Three persons in Khurda were also injured in lightning strikes, it said. The coastal region of Odisha, including the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, witnessed heavy rain with lightning strikes, the official said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast a similar situation in several parts of the state in the next four days. A cyclonic circulation has activated the monsoon which caused heavy rainfall across the state, the statement said.. The twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 126 mm and 95.8 mm of rainfall respectively during a 90-minute spell in the afternoon. The state recorded 36,597 CC (cloud to cloud) lightni

India braces for more rain after floods, lightning kill 2,000: Report

Rains have affected about 500,000 hectares of crops and damaged almost 90,000 houses since the start of the monsoon in early June, according to data compiled by the home ministry

20 dead as heavy rains & lightning hit Pakistan's Punjab province

At least 20 people, including women and children, were killed and over 50 injured in lightning and rain-related incidents in the Punjab province of Pakistan on Monday, officials said. Heavy pre-monsoon rain spells battered most parts of Punjab on Sunday and Monday and are expected to continue till June 30. "Lightning killed eight people while 12 others were either buried alive or electrocuted in related incidents in different parts of Punjab province," Rescue 1122 spokesperson Farooq Ahmad told PTI on Monday. He said lightning struck Narowal, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib cities, killing eight people, including children, while 10 suffered injuries and are being treated at local hospitals. Ahmad said that five people of a family were buried alive when the roof of their house caved in due to heavy rain in Narowal. A policeman was among eight people electrocuted in Lahore, Shiekhupura, Pasrur, Sialkot and Kamoke in rain-related incidents, he added. Heavy rains and hail storms also c

4 dead in lightning incidents as Rajasthan receives first Monsoon rains

Four people were killed and as many others injured in incidents of lightning strikes in Rajasthan as first Monsson rains were received in some parts of the state, officials said Monday. The deaths were reported from Pali, Baran and Chittorgarh districts, they said. Monsoon entered parts of the state on Sunday, bringing light to moderate rains and heavy rains in some districts of Udaipur, Kota, Bikaner, Jaipur divisions. A Meteorological Department spokesman said till Monday morning, 10 cm rainfall were recorded in Kathumar of Alwar and Khamnaur of Rajsamand districts. Surajgarh of Jhunjhunu recorded 8 cm rainfall, while 7 cm precipitation was recorded in Bhainsrodgarh of Chittorgarh, Ajitgarh of Sikar, and Kota districts Kota and Ramganj Mandi, the spokesperson said. Alwar's Kotkasim received 6 cm rainfall and Dausa's Baswar 6 cm, while many other places recorded rainfall ranging from 1-5 cm. Incidents of lightning strike were also reported in which four people were killed. Din

Lightning strikes kill 10 as pre-monsoon rains lash Pak's Punjab province

Lightning strikes across Pakistan's eastern Punjab province killed at least 10 people, officials said Monday as heavy pre-monsoon rains lashed the region. The strikes on Sunday mainly took place in the Sialkot and Sheikhupura districts of Punjab. Lightning strikes are frequent across Pakistan, especially in Punjab's mountainous areas and plains. The Pakistan Meteorological Department said more rains were expected this week, bringing some respite from the ongoing heatwave. The National Disaster Management Authority warned the ongoing rains could trigger flash flooding. Every year, many areas of Pakistan struggle with the annual monsoons, drawing criticism for poor government planning. The season runs from July through September. Last summer, floods triggered by rains killed 1,739 people across Pakistan. The deluge displaced about 8 million people and caused USD 30 billion in losses.