Lightning-Strike Deaths May Become More Common, Thanks to Climate Change

Each year, an estimated [24,000 people](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441920/) worldwide are killed by lightning. While a significant number, deaths per head of population [have fallen sharply](https://www.vaisala.com/sites/default/files/documents/Annual_rates_of_lightning_fatalities_by_country.pdf) over the past two centuries, thanks largely due to urbanization, the protection of more substantial housing, and improved weather forecasting. But India’s large rural population remains badly affected. Between 2,000 and 3,000 Indians die annually by lightning, most of them working class people aged 10 to 50. Fatalities have risen by more than 50 percent since the turn of the century, outstripping population growth. Compare that to the US, where fatalities have been gradually falling and number [around 20 a year](http://lightningsafetycouncil.org/LSC-LightningFatalities.html). India can experience [more than that](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/37-people-killed-uttar-pradesh-lightning-strikes-2565119-2024-07-11) number of deaths in a day.

For every person who is killed by lightning, roughly another nine are struck and survive, often with life-changing injuries. And with climate change making stormy weather and lightning [more common](https://www.rmets.org/metmatters/how-does-climate-change-affect-thunderstorms), activists like Daya believe the Indian government is failing to protect its people. “A bare minimum would be to at least spread information about all things lightning at local government level,” says volunteer Daya Shankar.

Read more: [https://www.wired.com/story/thunder-lightning-strike-deaths-india/](https://www.wired.com/story/thunder-lightning-strike-deaths-india/)