DHAKA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A series of lightning strikes in three districts in southeastern Bangladesh killed six people on Thursday.
Three deaths were reported in different areas of Rangamati district, two in Cox's Bazar district and one in Khagrachhari district from dawn until noon on Thursday amid heavy rain.
The majority of the lightning fatalities occurred in rural areas where people were working on their farmlands.
Death due to lightning strikes is common in the densely populated South Asian country during this time of a year, as the weather changes from the dry season to the rainy summer season.
According to Bangladesh's Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, 2,164 people died in lightning strikes in the country from 2011 to 2020. Considering the upward trend, the Bangladeshi government in 2016 declared it as a national disaster.
Experts claim that the surge in lightning strike deaths is attributable to climate change, which made the country more vulnerable to the impacts. ■
