According to a top government official, lightning deaths can be avoided via education and awareness, hence the government is opposed to labelling it a natural disaster.
Why are we debating this?
- State Requirements: States such as Bihar and West Bengal have asked for lightning-related deaths to be classified as natural disasters, allowing victims to receive compensation from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
- a rise in fatalities: Lightning killed 2,880 people in 2021, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, accounting for 40% of all unintentional deaths caused by “forces of nature.”
What is Lightning?
- Lightning is a rapid and powerful discharge of electricity in the atmosphere, often directed towards the Earth.
- Lightning strikes occur in massive, moisture-bearing clouds many kilometres tall.
- As temperatures fall below 0°C, water vapour in the clouds condenses into microscopic ice crystals.
- Collisions between ice crystals cause electrons to be released, resulting in a chain reaction and the development of a positive and negative charge within the cloud.
- Lightning can occur within clouds (inter-cloud and intra-cloud lightning) or between clouds and the ground (cloud-to-ground lightning).
Lightning Strike Intensity
- Voltage and Amperage: A typical lightning flash can reach 300 million volts and 30,000 amps, far exceeding household current.
- Household current is 120 volts and 15 amps, illustrating lightning’s enormous strength.
Mitigating Lightning Incidents
- Early Warning System: India has set up an early warning system for lightning, which has saved many lives.
- Focus on Rural regions: Because over 96% of lightning deaths occur in rural regions, mitigation and awareness programmes aimed at these people are necessary.
- Protection Device Deployment: Low-cost lightning protection devices must be implemented more broadly, particularly in rural regions.
- Lightning Action Plans: To manage lightning-related risks, states are encouraged to design and implement lightning action plans, similar to heat action plans.
- International Lightning Research Centre: Efforts are underway to build an international lightning research centre to improve detection and early warning systems.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/can-deaths-due-to-lightning-be-considered-a-natural-disaster/article67087105.ece