News from Bihar: Officials in Bihar confirmed Wednesday that lightning strikes in eight districts killed at least 22 people. According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the impacted districts include Begusarai, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Samastipur, Saharsa, Aurangabad, Lakhisarai, and Gaya.

With five confirmed deaths from each district, Begusarai and Darbhanga were the most severely affected. Samastipur, Saharsa, and Aurangabad each reported two fatalities, while Madhubani reported four. Gaya and Lakhisarai each reported one fatality. According to authorities, the majority of the casualties were daily wage workers and farmers who were trapped in the open during the abrupt change in weather.

Lightning hit a tree in Saharsa, setting it on fire, and damaged a temple spire in Madhubani’s Andhratharhi block.

In addition to expressing sorrow over the deaths, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that each dead person’s next of kin will get an ex gratia payment of 4 lakh. In order to maintain safety in inclement weather, he also asked people to heed the Disaster Management Department’s weather warnings.

The state had 275 lightning and thunderstorm-related fatalities in 2023 alone, according to the Bihar Economic Survey 2024–25, which was presented at the state budget session in February.

Meanwhile, on April 9 and 10, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for a number of districts, including Kishanganj, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, East Champaran, and West Champaran, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds (40 to 50 km/h).

On April 10, the IMD also predicted sporadic, intense rain in the districts of Kishanganj and Supaul. “Thunderstorm with lightning and gusty winds (40–50 km/h) is likely to occur at a few places over Kishanganj, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, East Champaran, and West Champaran districts,” according to the IMD.