Quick Take | Under a pitiless sky

State governments, especially those most affected by deaths from extreme natural events, must formulate awareness policies for public safety

Screengrabs from the video showing the Bareilly man being flung nearly 50 ft into the air along with a tin roof (Photo | PTI)

On Wednesday, a man in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly was flung about 50 feet in the air when a thunder-squall swept up a tin roof he was clinging to. Though this man is reported to be recovering from multiple fractures in a hospital, the deadly storm claimed at least 104 lives across the state. Of the 7,903 accidental deaths across the country attributed to forces of nature in 2024, lightning accounted for more than a third. Experts say that lack of awareness contributes to the unsafe ways people often seek shelter, thus endangering their lives. Given that deaths from lightning continue to be inordinately concentrated in UP and Bihar, the states must integrate innovative awareness campaigns about it in all communications aimed at farmers, who are at the greatest risk.