62,350 lightning strikes claim 12 lives in 3 hours in Odisha: Climate change to blame

3,790 people have been killed by lightning strikes in Odisha in the last 11 years

Around 62,350 lightning strikes hit Odisha across September 3 and 4, killing 12 people in three hours of an unprecedented rampage. Scientists have attributed the incident to various factors related to climate change.

Weather scientists said these unusual and extreme lightning activities occur when the monsoon returns to normalcy after a long break. According to them, a collision of cold and warm air masses creates the perfect conditions for such unpredictable lightning events. Read here.

According to a report by The Telegraph, 3,790 people have been killed by lightning strikes across the state in the last 11 years. “When moisture increases in the upper part of the atmosphere, the number of lightning strikes increases,” Umasankar Das, a scientist with the Bhubaneswar Meteorological office, told the daily.

A report published by the Down to Earth magazine said that thunderstorms accompanying lightning strikes, take place mainly for three reasons – sufficient availability of moisture, unstable air and an atmospheric mechanism to lift the air.

“The cloud-to-cloud lightning till 5.30pm on Saturday stood at 36,597 (in count), whereas the cloud-to-ground strikes were recorded at 25,753,” the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) told The Telegraph. MD Gyana Ranjan Das said the figures had been released on the basis of reports from the Indian Institute of Tropical Management, Pune. Odisha has been covered with the Earth Networks system.

“Lightning has become a common occurrence because of intense heat and high moisture content in the air, caused by advancing air from the Bay of Bengal. Intense heat waves coupled with other climatic changes have intensified lightning strikes in Orissa…. A sudden flow of moisture from Bengal has led to the (recent) increase in lightning strikes in Odisha,” the newspaper quoted SC Sahu, former director of the Bhubaneswar centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), as saying.

“Widespread rainfall can occur in the next 48 hours... Thunderstorms and lightning are also expected to occur in parts of North Odisha... Five districts are warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall: Dhenkanal, Angul, Kalahandi, Boudh, and Kandhamal... People have been warned to take safe shelter during lightning and thunderstorms... People should stay away from trees and water bodies," Senior scientist of IMD Bhubaneswar Uma Shankar Das, told news agency ANI on September 4.