Extreme pre-monsoon weather and a stalled atmospheric system have killed nine people across northern and eastern India. A combination of intense heat and severe thunderstorms caused fatal lightning strikes across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh.
The southwest monsoon advanced into Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat last week but has remained completely stationary near the Bihar border for 16 days. This atmospheric instability is driving the deadly lightning storms and prolonging dangerous heatwave conditions across the northern region, according to a detailed report by Bhaskar released early Tuesday.
In Uttar Pradesh, lightning strikes claimed two lives in Basti and Maharajganj. A separate rain-related incident in Firozabad killed five people and injured two when a tree collapsed onto an e-rickshaw. In Bihar, widespread thunderstorms killed four people across Sitamarhi, Munger, and Patna, leaving 24 others injured.
Three individuals, including two children, died from lightning strikes in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district. In response to the persistent severe heatwave caused by the delayed monsoon, educational authorities in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, altered school schedules for students up to the eighth grade, The CSR Journal confirmed. The monsoon is currently running nine days late in Uttar Pradesh, having missed its typical June 20 arrival.
Severe heat persists in North India, with temperatures peaking above 43 degrees Celsius in regions like Delhi and Haryana. Meanwhile, flood conditions have worsened in Assam’s Dhemaji district, submerging 96 villages and affecting approximately 16,000 people and 48,000 animals. The Meteorological Department expects the monsoon to cover the rest of the country by July 5.