A report released by the Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), a non-profit organization working in partnership with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), has shown a decrease in lightning-related fatalities in India. The 2019-20 data reveals that deaths due to lightning strikes fell by nearly 37%.
Analyzing the Data
The findings indicate that in the year 2019-20, approximately 33% of all natural disaster deaths were caused by lightning.
Factors Contributing to Lightning Strikes
These weather extremes are influenced by numerous factors such as global warming, deforestation, water body depletion, urbanization, increasing pollution, and aerosol levels. These factors cumulatively push the environment to its limits, resulting in dangerous weather phenomena like lightning.
Suggested Measures for Lightning Prevention
CROPC suggests that more states should participate in the Lightning Resilient India Campaign and adopt a comprehensive approach to lightning risk management. This campaign is a collaborative effort between CROPC and IMD, supported by the Indian Meteorological Society (IMS), IIT Delhi, NGOs, and other concerned institutions.
Significance of Early Warning and Safety Measures
To reduce lightning fatalities, early warning systems for farmers, cattle grazers, children, and others in open areas are crucial. Lightning occurrences usually follow a set pattern, striking during specific periods and similar geographical locations. Particularly deadly are the Kalbaishakhi – Norwesters, violent thunderstorms with lightning that occur in eastern India and cause the majority of pre-monsoon lightning deaths in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and UP.
Local lightning safety action plans, including the installation of Lightning Protection Devices, can help mitigate this risk. Notifying lightning fatalities as a disaster can also help in managing and preventing losses.
The Importance of Lightning Mapping
For better risk management, lightning mapping is vital. By identifying frequency, current intensity, energy content, high temperature, and other adverse impacts, a precise risk profile can be established. With continuous mapping for at least three years, a clear understanding of local climatology can be achieved. This would provide the basis for a Lightning Risk Atlas map for India, aiding in comprehensive lightning risk management.
Understanding Lightning
Lightning is caused by the rapid and massive discharge of electricity in the atmosphere. It is a natural atmospheric electrical discharge between a cloud and the ground or within a cloud. Inter cloud or intra cloud (IC) lightning, while visible, is harmless. Cloud to ground (CG) lightning poses risks due to the high electric voltage and current that can cause electrocution.
Why Does Lightning Strike?
The formation of lightning is a result of the difference in electrical charge between the top and bottom of a cloud. The process involves water vapor condensing into droplets as it rises through the cloud and temperatures decrease. These droplets eventually freeze into small ice crystals, which further ascend, gathering mass and eventually becoming heavy enough to fall. This results in collisions that trigger the release of electrons, causing a chain reaction that electrifies the cloud.
How Does Lightning Impact Earth?
Approximately 20-25% of the current from a lightning strike is directed towards the Earth and has a higher probability of striking taller objects on the ground, such as trees or buildings. This current flow, if significant enough, can result in considerable damage to life and property.
Preventing Lightning Damage: Lightning Conductors
Buildings can be protected from lightning strikes with the use of lightning conductors. A metallic rod, taller than the building, is installed in the walls of the building during its construction to divert the lightning’s electrical charge and prevent structural damage.
The Impact of Urbanization on Lightning Occurrences
Urbanization has an enormous impact on weather patterns. Encroachment on green spaces leads to a reduction in the number of trees and increase in paved surfaces, resulting in the urban heat island effect. The concrete surfaces radiate heat, disrupting temperature balance and exacerbating global warming.
Source: IE
