Lightning Killed Over 175 People In Odisha This Year

Bhubaneswar: Lightning is the natural calamity that claims the most lives in Odisha every year.

So far, over 175 people have died in lightning strikes in the state this year, the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), Pradip Jena, said on Saturday.

The toll was above 200 in 2018.

During a workshop, Jena said houses and office building need to have proper lightning earthing facilities.

The SEC said climate change is the cause behind frequent lightning strikes and natural disasters like cyclones, floods and droughts.

Lightning is broadly divided in two types – cloud-to-ground strikes and cloud-to-cloud strikes or in-cloud strikes.

Odisha led in the number of lightning strikes as well with 9,37,462 or about 16% of the total cloud-to-ground strikes in the country, according to private weather agency Skymet.

In-cloud strikes result from a friction in a cloud, while the cloud-to-ground strikes are the ones responsible for deaths. These happen when electric charges travel to the ground.