DHAKA: Nearly 300 people, mostly rural farmers, have been killed in lightning strikes in Bangladesh this year. A total of 297 people -- 242 men and 55 women -- died due to lightning strikes during the period from February to September this year. Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum (SSTF), a local organization, published the death toll at a press conference in Dhaka on Saturday. The SSTF, which monitors casualties from thunderstorms since 2019, said 73 people were injured during this period. The majority of lightning fatalities occurred in rural areas where people were working on their farmlands, it said. SSTF said the figures for lightning casualties were collected from national dailies, local daily newspapers, online news portals, and television channels. More than 96 deaths were reported in May, along with 77 in June, 19 in July, 17 in August and 47 in September. Deaths due to lightning strikes are common in Bangladesh in the months when the weather changes from the dry season to the rai ny summer season. But the South Asian country has seen a surge in deaths due to lightning strikes over recent years, and some of the country's experts have blamed the situation directly on climate change. Source: Philippines News Agency