Lightning strikes have claimed 659 lives in China, said head of China Meteorological Administration (CMA) Zheng Guoguang at a conference Tuesday.

According to the CMA, lightning had claimed 403 lives by July 27 and killed 109 in August. In the first 18 days of September, 147 people died of lightening strikes.

Due to global warming, the number of strong typhoons is increasing and more areas are vulnerable to the attack to typhoons, he said.

According to the official, China's temperature averaged 21.6 degrees Celsius in August, the second highest in years since 1951. The Qinghai Province in northwest China experienced the hottest summer in 56 years.

To fight lightning strikes, the China Association for Science and Technology and the CMA jointly launched a program this month to raise people's awareness on threats caused by bad weather.

In early July, the Ministry of Education and the emergency office of the State Council jointly launched a campaign to provide 420,000 high schools and primary schools nationwide with cartoons and illustrations teaching students how to avoid lightning strikes.

Figures from the CMA show that 19,982 accidents involving lightning strikes occurred in 2006 across the country, claiming 717 lives and injuring 640 people.

(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2007)