On April 24, 2018, weather officials recorded 36,749 lightning strikes over the space of only 13 hours in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Nine lives were lost during this extreme weather. More than 2,000 people die from lightning strikes each year in India. By contrast, the annual death toll from lightning strikes in the US is between 40 – 50. April and May can be a difficult season of the year in this region of India when the weather can be quite harsh and at times violent.