Close to 5 lakh lives were lost in India between 1990 & 2019 due to forces of nature. Among these, the most lives were lost because of lightning. Even in the year 2019, 35% of the deaths due to forces of nature were because of lightning. Here is a detailed review of the data on deaths due to forces of nature. In 2019 alone, over 4.21 Lakh accidental deaths have been registered across the country, reveals the NCRB’s Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India report of 2019, that was released recently. Of this, 8145 deaths, amounting to nearly 2% of the total accidental deaths were due to forces of nature like earthquakes, floods, and, epidemics, to name a few. As compared to the previous year, the number of accidental deaths as a result of forces of nature has increased by over 18% from 6,891 in 2018 to 8,145 in 2019. The maximum number of deaths caused by forces of nature was reported in Bihar with 1,521 deaths followed closely by Odisha with 1,466 deaths. These were the only two states to have recorded more than 1000 deaths each because of forces of nature. Together, the two states accounted for more than 35% of the deaths attributed to forces of nature. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Jharkhand had reported between 500 to 800 deaths each in the year 2019. More than 80% such deaths in Chhattisgarh & Tamil Nadu states were due to lightning in 2019 In Bihar, nearly one-third (480) of such deaths recorded in 2019 were due to floods. A further 400 deaths were caused by lightning in Bihar in 2019. In fact, lightning was the reason behind more than 80% of the total accidental deaths because of forces of nature in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu. In Goa, two of the three deaths reported in this category were due to lightning. Likewise, nearly 62% of the accidental deaths due to forces of nature in Telangana were attributed to heat stroke. Lighting caused 35% deaths because of forces of nature in 2019 In 2019, more than 35% (2876) of the deaths due to forces of nature were due to lightning. Heat/Sun stroke was the reason behind nearly 16% (1274) of the deaths. Floods were the reason behind about 12% (948) of the deaths and exposure to cold resulted in about 10% (796) of the deaths in this category. Forest fires, Cyclones, Torrential Rains, Epidemic, Earthquake, Avalanches, and Tornado together resulted in 163 deaths. Other causes, apart from those mentioned here, were the reason behind 1,824 deaths (22%). Altogether, 77% of those who died due to forces of nature were males (6301). A total of 1,833 females and 11 transgender persons constituted the remaining victims. Except in the case of forest fires, the number of men who died due to any of the causes was higher than the number of female victims. The data for transgenders was incorporated starting 2014. 4.96 lakh people lost lives to natural calamities in 30 years, majority were Male In the last 30 years between 1990 & 2019, around 4.96 lakh cases have been recorded as accidental deaths due to forces of nature. Looking at the cause wise deaths, (causes for which data is available), lightning has claimed the greatest number of lives- nearly 13%, amounting to 64,277 lives. This means an average of 6 people have lost their lives to lightning daily in the last 30 years. This is higher than the number of deaths due to floods, landslides, and exposure to cold together in the last 30 years. Close to 6% (27,472) of the deaths due to forces of nature since 1990 are because of heatstroke, and 5% (22,961) are due to floods. Exposure to cold has claimed 21,236 lives (4.2%) and landslides have claimed 18,372 lives (3.6%). Unlike pointed out by studies, it is observed that in almost all the cases, the proportion of male victims is higher than that of women victims. In the case of exposure to cold, 83% of those who died were male while 78% of those who succumbed to heatstroke were male. In the case of lightning and floods, male victims comprised of 71% and 70% respectively. Only in the cases of cyclone (55% male and 45% female) and landslides (60% male and 40% female), the proportion of male victims is below 70%. It is only in the case of earthquake, as studies have also proven, women are more vulnerable. Data of deaths because of earthquake is available since 1995, and in these 25 years, 56% of those who lost their lives in earthquakes were female. An average of 45 lives were lost daily day due to forces of nature in the last 30 years In the last three decades, an average of 45 lives were lost daily to forces of nature.