Thunderstorms claim 69 lives in India, Nepal

PATNA: In unusually intense thunderstorms, at least 69 people were killed this week across eastern India's Bihar state and in neighbouring Nepal, officials said Saturday.

Scientists warn that rising global temperatures are unleashing a cascade of extreme weather events, while flash floods and lightning kill thousands of people each year.

Bihar disaster authorities said Saturday that at least 61 people had died in strong thunder and lightning storms on Thursday and Friday.

Eight more people were killed in neighbouring Nepal, disaster officials told AFP, blaming "lightning strikes" on Wednesday and Thursday.

Heavy rain is forecast to hit Bihar again on Saturday, according to the local India Meteorological Department office.

Last year, experts warned that climate change was fuelling an alarming increase in deadly lightning strikes in India, killing nearly 1,900 people a year in the world's most populous country.

Lightning caused 101,309 deaths between 1967 and 2020, with a sharp increase between 2010 and 2020, a team of researchers led by Fakir Mohan University in the eastern state of Odisha said.