Why are there so many people being struck by lighting within the last year?

Question

Why are there so many people being struck by lighting within the last year?

Answer 1

I'm not sure why you think more people are being struck by lightning this year -- do you mean in a particular country or across the world?  Lightning strikes on the whole do vary year by year, so it's possible that this year is particularly bad.  

All the stats I've run across seem to line up with normal yearly numbers -- in the U.S., avg. is 80 deaths / 540 injuries, and so far this year we've had only about 20 deaths, which would be under the norm.  

Across the world some countries do receive more lightning strikes than others, and so could potentially have more people being struck.  Long term global climate change could be causing some areas of the world to become more lightning-prone, but on a yearly basis it's more likely a statistical fluke.  For more info look to source links.

You may also be experiencing the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.  This refers to the experience of hearing about something for the first time, then hearing it over and over again, everywhere.