In this paper, we report the results derived from a statistical analysis of whistlers recorded at Varanasi during the period January 1990-December 1999. The monthly occurrence rate shows a maximum during January to March. In order to study the role of geomagnetic disturbance on the whistler occurrence rate, we have used the KP index and its variation. It is found that the occurrence probability monotonically increases with ∑KP (daily sum) values. It is found that, when ∑KP>20, the occurrence rate is greater than the average value, in good agreement with results reported by other workers. In addition, we also present the probability of the observation of whistlers during weak/intense geomagnetic storms and also during the main phase and recovery phase of geomagnetic storms. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.