The number of deaths due to lightning has increased in the country in the last decade. Therefore, the lightning strike has turned into one of the deadliest natural disasters in our country.
The entire Dhaka and Sylhet divisions, Bogura, Pabna, Sirajganj, Cumilla and Jashore are prone to thunderbolt strikes, and it mainly hit the areas in the afternoon, evening and morning. The incidents of lightning strikes in the country are gradually increasing due to rising temperature and climate variability caused by global warming, taking its heavy toll on human lives in recent years.
At least 11 people were killed and nine others injured by lightning strikes in Cumilla, Rangamati, Sylhet, Khagrachhari and Cox’s Bazar districts on Thursday (2 May). According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, at least 216 people die every year on average in lightning strikes -- more than from floods, cyclones and other natural calamities.
About 70 percent of the total lightning strikes usually occur between April and June. Most of the deaths occur in flat lands and haor areas. Though the country experiences lightning strikes mainly during pre-monsoon period (April-May), climate change is contributing to its increased intensity.
Rising temperature, erratic rainfall and abnormal behaviour of weather are contributing to the recurrence of thunderbolt strikes. As per the record, the lightning frequency is increasing gradually since 1981 due to climate variability and increase in temperature.
216 people die every
year on average in
lightning strikes
Temperature in the country marked a sharp rise this year which is the main cause for increased incidents of lighting. People cannot resist thunderstorms, but minimise their losses by creating lightning awareness.
Considering the upward trend, the government in 2016 declared the thunderstorm a national disaster. Awareness programs should be launched in every nook and cranny of the country alongside all educational institutions.
All should move with caution during the pre-monsoon period (April-May). The government has issued some precautionary measures to avoid deaths and injuries by lightning strikes. However, the government should include the subject of thunderstorm awareness in textbooks, with an aim to be studied at each and every educational institution.
We cannot stop the lighting strikes, but we can save lives by informing people what they should do during lightning. A project has been taken to install 6,793 lightning arrester rods (Bajjrapat Nirodhok Dondo) across the country. We think the government should install the lightning rods in the lightning-prone districts of the country immediately alongside taking other necessary steps to raise awareness against lightning deaths in the country.
