Odisha tops list of states with maximum lightning strikes for 2nd year
Odisha tops list of states with maximum lightning strikes for 2nd year
Odisha again topped the list of states hit by lightning bolts for the second year in a row but managed to bring down the number of associated fatalities, the second annual lightning report compiled by a research organisation under Indian Meteorological Department has revealed.
As per the report, a joint initiative of the Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council, the India Meteorological Department, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune and the India Meteorological Society, Odisha saw 20.43 lakh lightning strikes between April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
The lightning strikes were up by 37 per cent from 14.8 lakh strikes in 2019-20. Over 40 per cent of lightning strikes in Odisha are cloud to the ground the highest in the country along with Gujarat.
The rise in fatalities due to an increase in frequency and intensity of lightning strikes prompted the IMD to start lightning forecasts from April 1, 2019.
Despite an increase in the lightning strikes, Odisha managed to bring down the associated death toll to 156 from 207 a year ago.
As per the Annual Lightning Report 2020-21, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are the only two states in the country that have pruned the lightning deaths by a whopping 70 per cent between 2016-2020.
At least 1,697 people died due to lightning between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. Of this, 401 died in Bihar, followed by Uttar Pradesh (238 deaths) and Madhya Pradesh (228 deaths).
According to a pre-print accepted for the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics recently, the frequency and intensity of lightning strikes in India are expected to increase by 10-25 per cent and 15-50 per cent by the end of this century. Coastal areas may be at the highest risk.
