But the number of strikes have also risen sharply. India recorded more than 18 million lightning strikes between April 2020 and March 2021, according to a study by the non-profit Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council. This was a 34% rise over a similar period during the previous year. Satellite data gathered by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology also shows strikes had "increased rapidly" between 1995 and 2014.