Deadly Thunderstorms Claim Over 60 Lives in Bihar and Nepal as Extreme Weather Intensifies
At least 69 people have lost their lives this week after a wave of unusually fierce thunderstorms swept across eastern India’s Bihar state and parts of neighboring Nepal, according to local officials.
In Bihar alone, state disaster management authorities reported on Saturday that 61 people were killed as powerful lightning and thunderstorms struck on Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile, Nepalese officials confirmed eight more deaths linked to lightning strikes earlier in the week, on Wednesday and Thursday.
The India Meteorological Department has forecast more heavy rainfall for Bihar over the weekend, raising concerns of additional hazards in the already storm-battered region.
While flash floods and lightning are tragically common during South Asia’s stormy seasons claiming thousands of lives annually climate experts are raising red flags about the increasing severity of such weather events. Rising global temperatures, they warn, are driving a surge in extreme weather phenomena, including deadly electrical storms.
A 2023 study by researchers at Fakir Mohan University in Odisha revealed that lightning strikes have become significantly more lethal over the past decade. Between 1967 and 2020, lightning claimed 101,309 lives in India, with a notable spike in fatalities from 2010 to 2020. Currently, nearly 1,900 people die every year due to lightning strikes across the country.
As climate patterns continue to shift, experts caution that these deadly surges in lightning and storms may become the new norm rather than rare events.
