Spatial and temporal variations in thunderstorm casualties over India

Abstract

Thunderstorms are one of the most dangerous convective weather events. Despite the recent advances in prediction of convective storms worldwide, thousands of casualties occur annually. In the present study, the authors highlight specifically, thunderstorm‐related casualties reported in India from 1978–2012. Analysis of long‐term data have revealed about 16 308 casualties resulting from 1381 thunderstorm events with an average of 465 casualties occurring annually. The maximum number of casualties were concentrated in north‐eastern and central north‐eastern states. About 80 per cent of total casualties were recorded in West Bengal (23 per cent), Assam (20 per cent), Orissa (14 per cent), Bihar (13 per cent) and Jharkhand (8 per cent) states. The national casualties rate per million population per year and casualties density standardized by area has been found to be 0.50 and 5.07, respectively. Male casualties were found to be more prominent than female and children casualties, probably due to the larger proportion of males performing their work outdoors. The number of thunderstorm events and casualties was observed to be highest during pre‐monsoon season and lowest during winter. It is believed that the findings from this study will help policy makers to draw strategies to cope with the perils of thunderstorms.