It was an overcast evening on July 31, 2026. Taj Muhammad Shah, 49, was ploughing his small plot of land with a tractor on the outskirts of his village, Borli Mahmood Shah, also known as Borli Muhammad Shah, near Islamkot in Tharparkar, Sindh.

Several workers were with him, including two young brothers, Sajan and Amrat Meghwar, who worked as farmhands. After finishing the day’s work, Shah and the two young men lay down under a tree to rest. The other workers rested nearby.

The stillness of the sandy, arid landscape was broken by successive peals of thunder, accompanied by bolts of lightning zigzagging through the sky. One such strike hit the tree under which Shah and his two workers were resting, killing all three.

Several others nearby sustained injuries but survived. “It happened so fast, we didn’t have any opportunity to react,” says Diam Meghwar, one of the survivors.

Once welcomed as a sign of rain and relief, lightning has become a source of fear in Tharparkar. As coal mining transforms the landscape, scientists are examining whether climate change, industrial activity or both are altering the region’s storms

Once welcomed as a sign of rain and relief, lightning has become a source of fear in Tharparkar. As coal mining transforms the landscape, scientists are examining whether climate change, industrial activity or both are altering the region’s storms

For generations, rain has been celebrated in Tharparkar, where persistent droughts have left agricultural communities heavily dependent on pastoralism. “We would be glad to see lightning and hear thunder because they brought hope,” says 50-year-old villager Seeta.

But that relationship has changed in recent years, as lightning strikes have resulted in mounting losses of life, livestock and property.

According to 2025 data from the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) Tharparkar, more........

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