May 2 storms were most lethal in 6 yrs: IMD data

NEW DELHI: The severe thunderstorms that hit north India and some other regions last Wednesday (May 2) unleashed the most devastation by any single-day storm event in the country in the past six years, for which data was compiled by the India Meteorological Department.

TOI had reported 129 deaths in the storms in north India, Jharkhand and Telangana on May 2. That’s nearly double the toll from the previous worst thunderstorm event since 2013, in which 65 people died in Bihar on April 21, 2015. That the May 2 storms were a particularly destructive extreme weather event is also indicated by wind speed figures from the Indian Air Force’s Kheria airbase near Agra.

These show that at 20.45pm that night winds touched 68 knots (125.93 kmph) — speeds that prevail during a category two cyclone.


“The wind speed of close to 126kmph lasted for 5-10 seconds. The steady wind speed during the storm was recorded at 58 knots (107.41kmph),” said a wing commander level IAF officer.

“All conditions necessary for storms were present on May 2, and more. Significantly, strong easterly winds brought moisture into north India which amply fed the storms, giving these a destructive edge,” said M Mohapatra, DGM, IMD.

IMD’s data on thunderstorms reveals that these weather events are underrated killers. These storms are usually localised events and hence do not make major news.

IMD’s data shows that as many as 388 people died in thunderstorms in 2013. While the casualty count has been slightly lower in subsequent years, 2018 could see another spike since more than 170 lives have been lost on just two stormy days this year — May 2 and April 11.

(With inputs from Arvind Chauhan in Agra)