There was 22.6% increase lightning in India last year vis a vis 2019, as per the ‘2020 India Lightning Report’ released by Earth Networks, which operates the largest global hyperlocal weather network.
Karnataka and Maharashtra were among the top 10 States with the highest lightning pulse counts during 2020. Over 39.5 million pulses were detected in India last year by the company’s Total Lightning Network. Of these, more than 12 million were dangerous cloud-to-ground strikes.
Most of the lightning pulses were in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Karnataka.
According to a release in Bengaluru on July 19, there were 7,447 Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts issued in India, most of them were in Tamil Nadu.
Odisha, followed by Chhattisgarh, experienced more than 1 million cloud to ground pulses last year.
“In 2020, India saw the highest concentration of lightning in May, June, and September because of the monsoon season. Although the rainfall average across India reached 109% [just 1% less than the 2019 average of 110%], the lightning increased by 22.6% compared to 2019,” the release said.
Severe weather and the peril of lightning pose a great threat to the Indian population. India experiences extreme amounts of heat and moisture due to the country’s proximity to the equator and the Indian Ocean, contributing to severe and sudden thunderstorms throughout the South Asia. According to a study by the National Crime Records Bureau, 2,360 people have perished by lightning every year in India, since 2001.