New Delhi, July 27. At least 20 people have died in the past 48 hours due to thunderstorms triggered by the arrival of monsoon rains in the north Indian state of Bihar, where the bad weather is expected to continue in the coming days.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on his Twitter page last night, “It is a tragedy that 20 people in 8 districts of the state have been struck by lightning.
The head of the regional government said in a statement that at least 15 deaths had occurred between Monday evening and Tuesday and announced compensation of 400,000 rupees (about $5,000) to relatives of the victims.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest report has warned of weather conditions in Bihar, which will be affected by “isolated heavy drops and widespread rain with squalls” till the end of this week.
Heavy rain and thundershowers are also forecast over the northern states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan (Northwest).
Thunderstorms are part of the arrival of the monsoon in India from June to September, when the Indian subcontinent receives 70% of the annual rainfall, which often leads to floods and other natural disasters.
According to an annual report released last April by the India Meteorological Department, electrical storms and lightning caused around 780 deaths in 2021, with the states of Odisha (east), Madhya Pradesh (centre) and north Bihar most affected. EFE
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