At least 11 people have lost their lives and several others were injured Sunday in India as a result of lightning strikes.
Foreign media suggest that the victims at the time of the incident were taking selfies at a 12th-century watchtower, a popular tourist attraction in the northern city of Jaipur.
There were 27 people at the time of the lightning strike on the tower. About 2,000 people have been killed by lightning in India since 2004.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of the state, Ashok Gehlot, has announced compensation for the families of those who lost their lives.
The monsoon season in India, which sees heavy rains, usually lasts from June to September. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said deaths from lightning strikes have doubled in the country since the 1960s – one of the reasons they cited was the climate crisis.
The data say lightning incidents have also increased by 30% -40% from the beginning to the mid-1990s. In 2018, the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh recorded 36,749 lightning strikes in just 13 hours.
Officials say they are more common in areas with thinner tree canopy, leaving people vulnerable to shock.
