July 30, 2023

In 2021, lightning strikes killed nearly 3,000 people in India.

The Indian government does not view lightning as a natural disaster, an official told The Hindu. Deaths caused by lightning can be avoided through education and awareness, according to the official, who asked not to be identified.  

The government recognizes cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloudburst, pest attack, frost and cold waves as natural disasters. Victims and their families, impacted by such disasters, receive monetary compensation from the state government.  

Lightning is a giant spark of electricity in the atmosphere between clouds, the air, or the ground. It is one of the oldest observed natural phenomena on earth. In addition to thunderstorms, it can be seen in volcanic eruptions, extremely intense forest fires, surface nuclear detonations, heavy snowstorms and in large hurricanes.

Energy from a lightning channel heats the air briefly to around 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, much hotter than the surface of the sun. This causes the air to explode outward, causing thunder. 

India has an early warning system for lightning, with forecasts available three hours to five days in advance. Yet, as an official from Bihar told The Hindu, poor people eager to earn a daily wage ignore the warnings, especially during peak farming season.

Lightning accounts for roughly 40% of the deaths from natural disasters in India. The governments of Bihar, West Bengal and other states have petitioned the Indian government to include lightning as a natural disaster so that the victims and their families can also receive compensation. Funds from the Indian government cover three quarters of payments received by victims of natural disasters.

Each year, lightning kills more than 300 people in Bihar; more than 100 were killed in a single day, June, 25, 2020. The number of deaths has gone up sharply in recent years, a Bihar official told The Hindu, possibly due to climate change.

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