Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 13

With the shift in climate, meteorologists are warning of more lightning casualties in years to come. The trend is expected to increase with the rise in global temperature, they warned.

According to the Earth Networks India Lightning Report of 2019, every year about 2,000 persons die due to lightning strikes, which is more than floods and cyclones. As per the IMD’s Annual Lightning Report 2020-2021, there has been a 34 per cent rise in lightning strikes in the country.

“There has been a 34 per cent rise in lightning strikes in the country. It has advanced from 1,38, 00,000 strikes in 2019-2020 to 1,85,44,367 strikes in 2020-2021, an increase of 46,83,989 strikes.”

“There are states with a very high rise in lightning strikes up to 331 per cent rise in Punjab. Bihar 168 per cent per cent Haryana 164 per cent Puducherry 117 per cent, Himachal Pradesh 105 per cent, and West Bengal 100 per cent are leading states. States like Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha need to take cognisance of it,” the IMD report adds.

Now, the reason why India has such a huge lightning problem, according to the Earth Networks report, is because it is “located in a prime place for lightning”. 

“India’s geography near the equator and the Indian Ocean provide it with a lot of heat and moisture that generate thunderstorms. Lack of weather safety awareness and lightning warning tools that allow people to respond in time, especially those working outdoors,” it says.

Meanwhile, Mahesh Palawat of Skymet Weather who suggests a “direct correlation between lightning cases and climate change,” adds: “Global warming has added more moisture to land, which in turn is the cause for lightning and thunderstorms. Because of climate change, extreme weather events are rising. Normally lighting and thundershowers occur in pre-monsoon months. Lightening’ strikes in this part of the year are rare”.

With the monsoon trough shifting towards Central India, this year the monsoon has been delayed way past the accepted range in the plains of the Northwest. In 2002, the monsoon was delayed till July 19 while 2021 is expected to record the second-most delayed seasonal rains, till date, says Palawat.   

Meanwhile, another reason for more deadly strikes appear to be a lack of tree cover.

The majority of lightning deaths occur while standing under a tree. However, when there is dense tree cover, lightning strikes the tree and dissipates in the ground. If the number of trees is less, people are more exposed, say experts.

Apparently, lightning also interferes with the electromagnetic field of mobile phones, which is also said to be another reason for more lightning deaths. Incidentally during pre-monsoon, fatalities are more as farmers are working in the agricultural fields. In the later parts, they are mostly those standing under tall trees or inside their huts.