With the increasing warming trend, India sees a 7-14 per cent increase in lightning every year. According to existing studies, with every 1oC rise in temperature, there is an 8-10 per cent rise in lightning strikes.
Geographically, lightning has spread from eastern, northern, and coastal India to the northwest and Himalayan foothills. Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, and Gujarat are new hotspots, while Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha also show increases. Bikaner and Churu now surpass Mayurbhanj and Kutch as the most lightning-prone districts.
Lightning increases are also seen on plains along the Ganga, Yamuna, Mahanadi, Godavari, Tapti, Narmada basins and their tributaries. This may be due to encroachment and urbanisation in river basins like the Ganga, creating heat islands that cause more evaporation and lightning strikes.
In terms of time, lightning is now being observed almost throughout the year. Conventional lightning months of Kalbaisakhi (a pre-monsoon thunderstorm in eastern India during April and May) have become more lethal. With heat lingering for longer and moisture from western disturbances interact with monsoon winds, lightning strikes occur.
Overall from 2019-20 to 2024-25, the country has seen a 400 per cent rise in lightning strikes. The increase is sharper in the semi-arid northwest than in eastern states like Odisha. Madhya Pradesh shows the highest rise, affected by multiple weather systems from both the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. Coastal regions show a uniform increase.
Lightning also has a direct relationship with storms. Typically, each strike is preceded by thunderstorms. But a new trend has emerged, where storms also follow lightning, bringing rain, hail and strong winds. As per the World Meteorological Organization’s “State of the Global Climate 2023” report, damages due to storms have increased by up to 62 per cent, higher than that from earthquakes, landslides, floods, droughts and heatwaves.
To adapt, we must first educate and sensitise administrators, disaster managers, corporations and communities. Lightning is instant, lethal and different from other hazards. Its risk management demands precise detection, forecast and quick response systems.
The country already has a nationwide lightning awareness and education programme, the Lightning Resilient India Campaign. April 13 is marked the National Lightning Day, with special weeks and sectoral-awareness programmes for vulnerable communities. Efforts are on for capacity-building of disaster managers and administrators, skill development of paramedics and infrastructure installation.
One of the main aims of the campaign has been to indigenise lightning technologies. Achievements made in this regard include domestic production of lightning detection sensors, convergence of technologies from educational institutions and private agencies, and integration of lightning alert and response protocols at gram panchayat and village levels.
Next come long-term, climate-action solutions to minimise the occurrence of extreme lightning events, mainly through the reduction of warming. This can be done through rejuvenation of water bodies, water storage, afforestation, use of renewable energy and reduction in carbon emission and pollution. Tree plantation projects in Odisha, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh have shown good results, as have solar power projects, revival of waterbodies and solid waste management in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has sanctioned a national programme on lightning. Phase I is being implemented as the Mitigation Project on Lightning Safety (MPLS) by the National Disaster Management Authority, along with Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj (with technical support from IMD, Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and the National Remote Sensing Centre) in the 10 most lightning-prone states, 50 most lightning-prone districts and 200 gram panchayats. Its broad framework includes risk assessment and strengthening early warning by risk mapping and installation of electric field meters and public alert poles; community preparedness through awareness drives among vulnerable communities, farmers, cattle-grazers, labourers and tribes in schools and villages; and training for volunteers. The Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC) has already carried out detailed risk mapping and created a panchayat-level micro-zonation atlas for lightning.
The programme also facilitates setup of lightning protection devices in schools, anganwadis and health centres, lightning studies (specifically in Jharkhand, which records the most deaths due to lightning and thunder), and digital campaigns.
The expected outcomes include a 60 per cent reduction in lightning-related deaths in targeted panchayats and lightning being integrated into local disaster plans and gram panchayat development plans.
Sanjay Srivastava is chairman of Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC) and expert on lightning. As told to Akshit Sangomla
This article was originally published in the September 16-30, 2025 print edition of Down To Earth