Key points
- 82 people die in Bihar alone
- Heatwave conditions, thunderstorms persist
- Climate change fuelling increase in deadly lightning strikes in India
ISLAMABAD: More than 100 people have died since Wednesday after unseasonably heavy rain lashed parts of India and Nepal.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of multiple weather hazards, with heat wave conditions in the west and thunderstorms in the eastern and central regions, although the torrential rain associated with the monsoon usually starts in June.
According to NBC News, at least 82 people have died in rain-related incidents in Bihar over the last two days, the eastern state’s disaster management department said.
Over 100 people have died due to flooding caused by heavy rains in India and Nepal, according to NBC News.
The most affected area is the Indian state of Bihar, the channel reports. Meteorologists are predicting further worsening of the weather in India, including abnormal heat… pic.twitter.com/viRBMeGIuG
— Based & Viral (@ViralBased) April 12, 2025
While flash floods and lightning kill thousands of people each year, scientists warn that rising global temperatures are unleashing a cascade of extreme weather events.
Lightning strikes
Eight more people were killed in neighbouring Nepal, disaster officials told AFP, blaming “lightning strikes” on Wednesday and Thursday.
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.
