The recent lightening incidents have brought the focus back to a debate about the possible relation of the increasing lightenings with climate change.?
There is a section of researchers who believe that occurrence of lightening is a result of climate change and it's been striking with the frequency and intensity like never before. While there is further research being conducted on the subject, some incidents that have killed dozens of people surely indicate that there's something new, and more fatal happening around us.
It starts with the gathering of clouds into a storm. In the center of the growing storm, tiny flecks of ice and supercooled water droplets collide and exchange charge, with positive charge billowing into the storm¡¯s spreading anvil.
This flow of particles creates an imbalance, and the system must be neutralised.?
Finally, with a zap having more power than 100,000 radio stations, all concentrated at a single point, lightning strikes.
What¡¯s more, lightning is not only an indicator of climate change; it also affects the global climate directly. Lightning produces nitrogen oxides, which are strong greenhouse gases.
According to a pre-print accepted for journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics recently, the frequency and intensity of lightning strikes in India are expected to increase by 10-25?per cent and 15-50?per cent by the end of this century. Coastal areas may be at the highest risk.
An increase of one degree Celsius would increase the frequency of lightning strikes by 12 per cent, warned California University in a study published 2015.
A study published in Geophysical Research Letters in March 2021, too, has established links between climate change and rising incidences of lightning in the Arctic region.
The number of lightning strikes recorded during the summer months between 2010 and 2020 shot up from around 18,000 at the start of the decade to more than 150,000 by 2020, the study said.
Urbanisation, increased population and a warmer climate guarantee an intensification of the human exposure to lightning hazard, according to a research paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, 2018.
Both surface temperature and moisture levels have increased significantly in recent years. Urbanisation leading to loss of tree cover also contributes to the rise in surface temperature.?
The two have significantly contributed to the rise in incidence of lightning.?
In the future, lightning mortalities are only going to increase. Climate projections indicate that temperature and moisture will increase further in the future.
At least 1,697 people died due to lightning between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. Of this, 401 died in Bihar, followed by Uttar Pradesh (238 deaths) and Madhya Pradesh (228 deaths), according to the?Annual Lightning Report 2020-2021, a study carried out by?Climate Resilient Observing-Systems Promotion Council (CROPC).
At least 156 people died in Odisha, which accounted for over 13.5 per cent of the total lightning strikes in 2020-21. The state witnessed over 2 million strikes during this period, the report added.
Lightning strikes increased in Punjab 331 per cent, followed by Bihar (168 per cent), Haryana (164 per cent), Puducherry (117 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (105 per cent) and West Bengal (100 per cent).
Annual Lightning Report 2020-2021 contained the map of lightning strikes over India and all 37 states and Union territories. The rise in fatalities due to an increase in frequency and intensity of lightning strikes prompted the IMD to start lightning forecasts from April 1, 2019.