Sayeed Muhammad: In an unusual natural event, the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh recorded 36,749 lightning strikes in just a 13-hour period on Tuesday. The number is unusually high and the result of “extreme weather patterns”, according to the state disaster management authority, reports BBC. Nine people, including a nine-year-old girl, have been killed in the state by lightning strikes since Tuesday, where thunderbolts are common during heavy monsoon rains, especially from June and September. However, this particular region usually sees increased lightning activity before the monsoon begins. Tuesday’s bout of lightning is being considered an anomaly because data from last year shows that there were some 30,000 lighting strikes throughout the entire month of May in the same region. Some scientists believe that global warming will significantly push up the frequency of lightning strikes. At least 2,000 people have died in lightning strikes in India every year since 2005, according to the National Crime Records Bureau of India.
Our time is a news portal