More than 100 people were killed in a violent storm that battered India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, with rain and hail, the state Disaster Management and Relief office said on Thursday.
At least 104 people died in about a dozen districts, the worst hit being the area around the Hindu pilgrimage city of Prayagraj, the office of the state's relief commissioner, Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, told Reuters.
"The entire area where we live turned black for around half an hour," said Ashok Rai, who lives in the coal-rich industrial town of Obra in the state's Sonbhadra district.
"Strong winds lifted hoardings and signboards and thick coal dust from the ground and hurled them around," he added.
Storms are common in the northern state during the hot season from March to June, before the monsoon rains bring respite.
"Adverse weather conditions" on Wednesday led to the deaths of 89 people, Uttar Pradesh's relief commissioner said in a post on X.
There were also reports of 53 people injured, 87 houses damaged, and 114 livestock killed in the state due to the storms, rain, hail, and lightning, the post added.
Television images showed trees and billboards uprooted by gusts of wind, with some crashing into cars amid clouds of dust and debris that knocked down wooden furniture at roadside stalls.
Additional fatalities were reported in Budaun district, where five people died in storm-related incidents, and in Sonbhadra district, where one death was confirmed, according to the Press Trust of India.
The chief minister of the state, governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, had directed officials to assist survivors and distribute financial aid within 24 hours, authorities said.
Meanwhile, rain hit parts of the capital New Delhi, also affecting flight traffic at Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Regional powers gathered in Moscow on Monday for talks on Afghanistan, focusing on security, economic cooperation and Kabul’s relations with ...
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan held talks in Tehran on Monday on bilateral ties and efforts t...
Four major German political foundations have halted their work in Georgia as tighter rules on foreign grants put pressure on a decades-old partners...
Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned, with Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), appointed as acting oil minister, according to Iranian state media.
Right-wing Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro will face leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a runoff of the presidential election later this month, after he exceeded expectations in Sunday's first-round vote with a slight lead over the incumbent.
Candidates elected to Bosnia and Herzegovina's three-member presidency declared victory after preliminary unofficial results showed Denis Becirovic leading the Bosniak seat, Darijana Filipovic ahead in the Croat seat and Zeljka Cvijanovic likely retaining the Serb seat.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States meets seven conditions agreed under a June memorandum, as President Donald Trump signals he may soon decide whether to resume military operations against Tehran.
Uzbekistan’s grape exports have grown rapidly. In January-August 2025, the country exported 86,200 tonnes of fresh grapes worth $78.3 million to 19 countries but can it turn these crops into a recognisable international product?
Türkiye’s COP31 presidency has unveiled an action agenda designed to turn climate commitments into concrete projects and measurable results, focusing on clean energy, waste reduction, resilient cities and industrial decarbonisation.
Greenland and Antarctica have shed a combined 11.3 trillion tonnes of ice since 1979, according to the most comprehensive satellite study of the planet's ice sheets to date, with researchers warning the pace of loss has accelerated sharply in recent decades.
The European Union will continue allowing large-scale plastic waste exports to Türkiye despite concerns over recycling rates, environmental damage and the risk of illegal waste trafficking.
Hundreds of thousands of deep-diving turtles, known as olive ridley sea turtles, have arrived on Mexico’s southern coast for one of nature’s most striking nesting events. But conservation officials warn that climate change is making it increasingly difficult for their eggs to hatch.
August 2026 tied as the hottest month ever recorded globally, pushing average temperatures above the critical 1.5°C threshold as extreme weather swept across several regions, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment