More than 70 people killed by lightning in India last week
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A farmer describes the scene when Khushboo Bind was killed by lightning in the adjacent paddy field on July 25, at Piparaon village on the outskirts of Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Thursday, July 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh) |
The ongoing monsoon season has wreaked havoc across portions of India and the Middle East. Heavy rainfall has flooded entire towns and triggered mudslides while thunderstorms and subsequent lightning strikes have turned deadly.
In India, nearly 70 people were killed by lightning last week.
In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, 49 deaths were blamed on lightning strikes last week, according to The Associated Press (AP).
Seven of these deaths occurred on Tuesday when a group of people, mainly farmers, sought shelter under trees during a thunderstorm, according to local officials. They were struck and killed instantly by the lightning.
An additional 20 people died as a result of lightning from Tuesday to Wednesday in the eastern state of Bihar, according to the AP. Earlier this month, 16 people were killed in the central state of Madhya Pradesh.
Nearly 750 people have been killed by lightning across India since April, according to Col. Sanjay Srivastava of the Lightning India Resilient Campaign.
"At this point in the year, thunderstorms develop daily across India and produce frequent lightning which poses a risk to anyone outdoors," AccuWeather Meteorologist Rob Richards said.
India's summer monsoon season typically begins in June and runs into September.
Thunderstorms and lightning have gone up in frequency this year in India due to an increase in pollution levels, according to J P Gupta, the direction of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
"High ground temperature leads to evaporation from water bodies that add moisture to the atmosphere. The presence of aerosols due to air pollution creates favorable conditions for thunderclouds to trigger lightning activity," Gupta explained to the AP.
Dangerous monsoon impacts have not been limited to India. AccuWeather forecasters say portions of the Middle East have received multiple blows from potent storms this week.
The week began with devastating flooding in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi after more than an entire summer's worth of rain fell in just 24 hours.
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In this photo provided by the Iranian Red Crescent Society, members of a rescue team work at the scene of a flash flood in the northwestern part of Tehran, Iran, Thursday, July 28, 2022. (Iranian Red Crescent Society via AP) |
In neighboring Iran, storms wreaked havoc early Thursday.
Early Thursday morning, torrential rainfall triggered a deadly landslide in Iran's capital city of Tehran, according to the AP. The landslide occurred in the northwestern part of the city, in the foothills of Tehran's Alborz mountains.
At least four people were killed and nine others were injured in the slide, according to state media. A nearby religious shrine, Imamzadeh Davood, was also damaged.
As of Sunday, at least 14 deaths were confirmed across two Iranian provinces due to recent flooding, according to relief officials.
"The rain in Iran last week can be tied back to the same [area of low pressure] that brought flooding to Karachi," AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls said. "Thunderstorms and local downpours are likely to continue across Iran through the weekend."
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