Lightning strikes kill 33 people in a week as monsoon season hits India

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New Delhi — At least 33 people were killed and dozens injured by lightning strikes in the eastern Indian state of Bihar this week, officials said Friday. The deaths occurred as powerful storms and monsoon rains battered the state.

Most of the deaths were reported on Wednesday and Thursday, when intense storms hit at least 10 districts in Bihar. Most of the victims were agricultural workers, including an elderly man killed by a lightning strike in the Nalanda district while he was out with grazing cattle. Two women were seriously injured in the same place and were being treated for burns.

The state government has urged residents to take precautions, including remaining indoors during bad weather. Nitish Kumar, Bihar's Chief Minister, announced government compensation of 4 million Indian rupees (about $4,600) for the families of those killed.

The storms and lightning are likely to continue, as monsoon rains are expected to continue for weeks in the region. India's Meteorological Department has predicted light to heavy rainfall in most parts of the southern and northeastern parts of Bihar until at least July 24.

Lightning strikes are common during monsoon season in north and eastern India. More than 2,500 people in India are struck by lightning every year, according to government data. In Bihar alone, at least 243 people were killed by lightning strikes last year, and 275 died in 2023. In November 2023, lightning strikes during unseasonal rainfall killed 24 people in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

A typical lightning strike packs around 300 million volts of electricity, which is capable of causing instant death or severe burn injuries. Scientists say climate change is leading to increased lightning activity and more intense storms. Rising land and sea surface temperatures mean there is more heat energy to fuel the thunderstorms that causes lightning.

A study by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, said lightning strikes in the U.S. could increase by 12% for every degree Celsius rise in average temperature. One person was killed and over a dozen others were injured after being struck by lightning in Jackson Township, New Jersey on Wednesday.

India's east and northeast region is also prone to annual flooding that has killed dozens of people and displace hundreds of thousands during monsoon season. The seasonal rains wreaked havoc in southern India last year, too. In July 2024, massive landslides sparked by monsoon rains killed at least 158 people in the southern state of Kerala.