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

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

The two-day annual lightning conference concluded on August 29 in the national capital, highlighting a “notable surge” in lightning occurrences and fatalities since 2019.

The Annual Lightning Report, based on data from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and the National Remote Sensing Centre, revealed that cloud-to-ground lightning flashes had increased by 53 per cent from 2019 to 2023. It noted that several states had experienced more than a 300 per cent rise in lightning flashes. Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, and Maharashtra were affected.

The study identified the central Indian region between the Ganga, Sone, and Mahanadi, along with Vindhyachal, Satpura, Kaimur, and Vidarbha, as the most lightning-prone zones. MP, UP, and Bihar accounted for 60 per cent of the country’s lightning-related fatalities. The Lightning Resilient India Campaign report, a collaborative endeavour between the India Meteorological Department, the Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council, and others, highlighted concerns about lightning strikes at heritage sites and monuments.

A lightning strike killed 18 near Amer Fort on July 11, 2021. According to the National Crime Records Bureau report on accidental deaths in 2021, of 7,126 accidental deaths due to forces of nature, lightning was responsible for 40.4 per cent of the deaths (2,880 deaths), making it the leading cause, followed by floods at 9.2 per cent (656 deaths), exposure to cold at 8.7 per cent (618 deaths), and so on.