- Scale. At least 96 people were killed and more than 50 injured as pre-monsoon storms tore through Uttar Pradesh on the night of May 13–14, making it one of the deadliest weather events in northern India in years.
- Reach. The storms struck simultaneously across a dozen districts of India’s most populous state, from Prayagraj and Bhadohi in the east to Bareilly and Badaun in the north.
- Response. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered relief operations completed within 24 hours, with disaster teams deployed and compensation promised to bereaved families.
The storms swept through Uttar Pradesh in the late hours of Wednesday, driven by a collision of moisture from the Bay of Bengal and hot, dry air over the Indo-Gangetic Plain — the typical mechanism behind the violent andhis that strike northern India in the weeks before the monsoon arrives. By Thursday morning, reports compiled across regional authorities and wire services put the toll at 96 dead and more than 50 hospitalised.
District by district
Bhadohi recorded the highest single-district death toll at 18, followed by Prayagraj with 17. Mirzapur reported 15 fatalities; Fatehpur, 10. Six deaths each were confirmed in Unnao and Badaun, while Pratapgarh and Bareilly each recorded four. Across all affected districts, the primary causes were falling trees, collapsing structures, and direct lightning strikes. Tin roofs were torn from buildings, crops were flattened, and power infrastructure went down across dozens of rural localities.
Police and state disaster response teams used chainsaws and cranes to clear debris from roads and railway tracks throughout Thursday morning. Administrative official Narendra Srivastava noted that “homes, crops and power infrastructure were widely damaged, particularly in rural parts.”
Government response
Chief Minister Adityanath, whose BJP has been extending its footprint across India’s major states, issued instructions within hours for district magistrates to complete relief assessments by nightfall and disburse emergency compensation to affected families. The National Disaster Response Force was put on standby for further deployment.
Seasonal context
Pre-monsoon dust storms are a regular feature of the north Indian plains from March through June, as heat builds over Rajasthan and draws moist air northward from the Bay of Bengal. The resulting convective cells can produce sudden, violent gusts. Wednesday’s event appears to have been unusually intense in geographic spread — striking multiple districts simultaneously — which amplified the death toll beyond what any single localised event would have caused. The annual monsoon is forecast to reach Uttar Pradesh around the third week of June.