Lightning Incidents in India
Lightning Incidents in India
Main Examination: General Studies Paper-3
(Natural Calamities)
August 16, 2023
Foreword:
- Although lightning is considered to be the world's most occurring natural phenomenon, but the way its intensity is increasing year by year, it is a cause of serious concern.
- Lightning is being linked to environmental imbalance. Scientists say that if the threat of global warming continues to increase like this, then by the end of this century, the incidence of lightning will increase by fifty percent as compared to today.
Lightning Incidents in India:
- As soon as the rains begin, incidents of lightning start coming to the fore from different parts of the country. This year, cases of death of people due to this are continuously coming to the fore. In a single day, nine people died due to lightning at different places in Odisha. In Bihar too, in Rohtas, Arwal, Saran, Aurangabad, East Champaran, Banka and Vaishali districts, more than eighteen people died due to lightning within twenty-four hours. In Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh and Ghazipur, eight people were killed due to lightning.
- Six people died due to lightning in Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh. In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh alone, about 100 people have died due to lightning so far this monsoon. Somewhere a farmer gets struck by lightning while plowing the field, and somewhere passers-by or children going to school become victims of lightning. A total of twelve such states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha have been identified in the country, where maximum lightning strikes every year.
Statistics of Deaths due to Lightning in India:
- According to the figures of the central government, about three thousand lives are being lost every year in the country due to lightning strikes. Only in Uttar Pradesh in 2022, about 370 people died due to lightning.
- According to the 'First Annual Lightning Report' of the Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), an organization working with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the number of lightning strikes in India between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 1,771 people had died.
- According to another report related to deaths in such accidents in 2019, a total of 2,876 people died. According to CROPC's 'Second Annual Lightning Report', 1,619 people had died due to lightning from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021. There was an increase of about 34 percent in the incidents of lightning in 2020-21. In 2019-20, where lightning struck a total of 1 crore 48 lakh times, more than 1 crore 85 lakh times were recorded in 2020-21.
- According to a report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), lightning accounts for the highest 35.3 per cent of deaths due to natural disasters. Between 1967 and 2012, lightning was the reason for 39 percent of such deaths in the country.
- According to NCRB, more than two thousand people die due to lightning every year in India. According to the documents, 32,743 people died due to lightning across the country between 2000 and 2014. In the last decade alone, more than 25 thousand people across the country have lost their lives in the grip of lightning.
- According to NCRB, on an average 2,182 people are killed by lightning every year in the country. About 71 percent of the deaths due to lightning occur while standing under trees, while the remaining 29 percent occur due to standing in open fields or open places.
- About 80 percent of these deaths can be prevented by raising awareness.
- Although many people somehow survive after being struck by lightning, but many of them suffer from various physical and mental problems. In some such people, due to very strong thunder of lightning, there are problems like tearing of eardrums, collapse of tissues, side effects on the nervous system, paralysis of a particular part of the body or the whole body, some psychological problems. .
Reasons behind the constant occurrences of lightning:
- According to scientists, the following reasons can be behind the incidents of lightning:
- Deforestation on a large scale around the world,
- Drying up of water sources,
- Increase in the level of air pollution to a large extent,
- Increase in excessive amount of aerosols in the atmosphere,
- Continuous increase in the temperature of the earth.
Scientific Analysis:
- Due to increased heat immediately after the summer season, there are more incidents of lightning during monsoon rains.
- The warmer the earth, the more the emission of green house gases will increase and the more lightning will fall on the earth. Indiscriminate felling of trees due to rapid urbanization is also an important reason for this. In fact, scientists say that when the earth was covered with trees, lightning mostly used to fall on trees and moist ground only, but due to very less number of trees, the number of lightning strikes and accidents due to it has increased considerably. Some scientists believe that the lack of palm trees around farms is the main reason for the increase in the death toll in such incidents in recent years. Actually, due to the height of the palm trees, they bear the attack of lightning on themselves.
- According to a research by scientists at the University of California, since there is no possibility of a decline in the emission of greenhouse gases in the future, the incidents of lightning will increase further in the coming times. Quoting a report in America's 'Science' magazine, it has been told that if the temperature of the earth increases even by one degree due to climate change, then the incidents of lightning will increase by about twelve percent.
Major Causes behind more deaths due to lightning in India:
- The lack of strong warning system in India regarding thunderstorms,
- In western countries, timely warnings are issued in this regard and accidents are averted, but in our country, a smooth system of forecasting and warning of lightning has not yet been developed.
- Compared to other countries, during the monsoon, many people have to work outside their homes in open fields for agricultural purposes, which makes them more vulnerable to lightning during inclement weather.
- Although lightning can strike anywhere and it is not possible to prevent such incidents, but by developing an accurate system of early information like other countries, huge loss of life and property can be reduced.
Conclusions:
- The phenomenon of lightning gives us a new perspective to understand the mystery of natural and scientific processes. These incidents teach us how electricity plays an important role in our natural and technological development, and at the same time we need to be vigilant about safety.
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Mains Exam Question
The frequent lightning incidents in India have not only increased the number of deaths, but also caused destruction of economic resources. Discuss.