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| A study of Lightning Fatalities in India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paper Id :
16287 Submission Date :
2022-07-08 Acceptance Date :
2022-07-19 Publication Date :
2022-07-25
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| Abstract |
India is one of the hotspot for lightning activities, experiencing a large number of deaths every year; more than any other natural disaster. Vulnerability to lightning is not the same for all states; some states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha are more vulnerable compared to others. Also, deaths are observed more among males and the younger generation. This paper discusses about lightning death scenario at the national and state level. It also discusses about geographic and demographic distribution of lightning causalities in India.
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| Keywords | Lightning, Indian Scenario, State Wise Causalities. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduction |
In Indian and European cultures, the thunder God is also known as the king of the Gods, e.g. Lord Indra in Hinduism, Zeus in Greek , and Perun in ancient Slavic religion, and Thor-son of Odin in Norse mythology. Indra, the king of Gods, is often represented as a man with four arms and hands; with two he holds a lance, thunderbolt ( Vajra) in the third , whilst the fourth is empty. In all cultures, lightning is described as the weapon of the God against devils or bad things. This makes lightning more superstitious and gives rise to myths among people, especially rural people. One common myth among people is that it is punishment given by God for doing wrong things, thus forcing them to follow religious activities rather than adopting a scientific approach.
Lightning is a climate related, highly localised natural phenomenon where electrical charges generated due to cloud/air movement or dust storms and volcanic eruptions or other turbulent atmospheric conditions get discharged to the earth through a conductive path with disastrous direct and indirect effects[1]. Lightning activities are experienced more or less in almost every part of the world. Almost 70% of all lightning strikes occur in the tropical latitude range of 35° north to 35° south latitude. Globally, 85% to 90% of lightning occurs over land because solar radiation heats land faster, causing convection (thunderstorms) to be taller and stronger[2]. Though lightning is one of the deadliest natural phenomena, it is also necessary for the Earth in the following three ways: 1) The best- known theories for the origin of organic compounds are based on the notion of an ‘organic soup’ that was generated either by lightning-driven reactions in the early atmosphere of the Earth or by delivery of organic compounds to the Earth from space[3].2) Lightning strokes convert gaseous nitrogen in to nitrates which act as fertilizers for plants[4]. 3) Earth surface is negatively charged and it continuously emits electrons to the atmosphere, Lightning recharge the Earth and helps in maintaining electric balance[5].
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| Objective of study | 1. To study the lightning scenario in India
2. To discuss lightning causalities at national level |
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| Review of Literature | Lightning is one of the most unpredictable natural disasters causing human, animal and economic losses. Lightning strikes the Earth’s surface more than 100 times each second and 8 million times per day. About 50,000 thunderstorms occur each day , causing fires and injuries [6].Worldwide, average annual lightning deaths are estimated to be 24,000 and the ratio of deaths to injuries is 1:10[7]. Worldwide mortality due to lightning is estimated to be 0.2–1.7 deaths/million people[8] .Deaths rate in devolved countries like Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan and US has dropped from 3 per year per million people in 1880 to 0.3 [9]. As compared to developing countries this drop in death rates for developed countries was very high. This difference is due to 1) Fewer lightning-safe homes, workplaces, school, and other facilities than in more developed, 2) Fewer easily available fully-enclosed metal topped vehicles, 3) High rate of labor-intensive manual agricultural work and 4) Lack of awareness or data about the lightning threat, its avoidance, and its medical treatment[10] .Approximately, 78% of worldwide lightning occurs between 30°S and 30°N latitudes[11]. Lightning injuries and related deaths mostly affect individuals who work outside or participate in outdoor recreational activities. Worldwide, men are five times more likely to be struck by lightning than women. The most vulnerable age for lightning injury is estimated to be between 10 and 29 years [12]. In India maximum numbers of casualties were concentrated in north-eastern and central north-eastern states. About 80 per cent of total casualties were recorded in West Bengal (23 per cent), Assam (20 per cent), Orissa (14 per cent), Bihar (13 per cent) and Jharkhand (8 per cent) states[13]. Lightning deaths are more in pre monsoon season as it is strongly influenced by frequent and widespread thunderstorms with occasional rainy days over major parts of India, while the monsoon season is marked with very large increase in rainy days as against thunderstorm days[14]. |
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| Main Text |
Lightning
Causalities in India Lightning is the deadliest natural disaster in India. Accidental deaths and suicides in India ( ADSI) report shows that on average every year 2,400 people killed due lightning strike , which is more than any of the natural disasters . The following graph shows disaster deaths in India from 1967 to 2015. The graphs shows that number of deaths due to lightning is more than any other natural disasters and its relative percentage is increasing in recent times. Graph no. 1 Disaster deaths per year in India from 1967 to 2015  (Source: ADSI report – GOI) The graphs show that the number of Lightning deaths has consistently increased. This increase is attributed due to the improved reporting procedure, especially from remote areas and inter-annual variations in climate pattern due to global climatic instabilities and teleconnections[15]. From 1967 to 2005 , it is seen that number of deaths due to natural disasters in India is gradually decreasing whereas Lightning deaths are increasing. Graph no. 1 Comparison of Lightning deaths and natural
disaster deaths   (Source: ADSI report – GOI) Table no.1 State wise Lightning deaths in India from 1967 to 2005
(Source: ADSI report – GOI) (* Death rate is calculated by taking ratio of number of lightning deaths to average of the state for the given period) Almost all states in India are vulnerable to Lightning. Lightning activity is normally linked with thunderstorms; regions of North-east have the highest number of thunderstorms every year, resulting in a greater number of Lightning strikes. Analysis of long-term data (1978–2012) has revealed about 16,308 casualties resulting from 1,381 thunderstorm events with an average of 465 casualties occurring annually. The maximum numbers of casualties were concentrated in north-eastern and central north-eastern states. About 80 per cent of total casualties were recorded in West Bengal (23 per cent), Assam (20 per cent), Orissa (14 per cent), Bihar (13 per cent) and Jharkhand (8 per cent) states. As per the ADSI report for the period of 12 years ( from 2004 to 2015) top five states for lightning deaths are Madhyapradesh ( 4,818) , Maharashtra ( 4,090), Odisha ( 3,778), Chattisgarh (2,872) and Uttar Prdesh (2,755) and regions with minimum lightning deaths are Chandigarh ( 0), Lakshadweep (0) and Daman& Diu(1). Though average number of thunderstorms in Maharashtra are moderate (25 to 60 days), still it is one of the hotspot for Lightning activities .Thunderstorms activities increases when we move towards North-East region. Lightning deaths are more in pre monsoon season as it is strongly influenced by frequent and widespread thunderstorms with occasional rainy days over major parts of India, while the monsoon season is marked with very large increase in rainy days as against thunderstorm days. On average 6, 45,66,091 lightning strokes per year were reported in India by GLDAS, Lightning is less frequent over broad North-West plane, very high density in North-East , South-West subcontient and Northwest base of Himalaya. Significant Lightning occurs during pre-monsoon (March- May) and minimum strikes during post monsoon (October- November) and winter season (December- February) season in south and northeast region, most lightning strike during monsoon (June-September)[16]. In India total 31,032 people died due to Lightning from 2004 to 2015. Out of this 22,165 ( 71.42%) were male, 8,857 ( 28.54%) were female and 10 were transgender . The percentage of male population is more than double of that of female. This is mainly because males are more involved in outdoor activities, field work jobs; also it is observed that females are more alert compared to males as many times they are frequently accompanied by children or have responsibility of assets such as live stocks. Because of pending works, casual approach, fearless attitude and perceived associated value of assets males take undue risk and become victim of the incidence. Out of total lightning causalities 34.23% were from age group 30-44 years, 28.78% were in age group 15-29 years, 21.34% were from 45-59 years, 9.22% were below 14 years and 6.41% were above 60 years of age. In India most of the lightning victims are poor and illiterate rural farmers. This is mainly because the job profile of farmer compels them to work in open field and any one in open space during thunderstorms is vulnerable to lightning. |
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| Methodology | This is an exploratory research study based on secondary data. The secondary data is collected from government reports, research papers, and other research sources. |
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| Conclusion |
For every ten lightning deaths worldwide, one is from India. In India, lightning deaths are observed during work, in contrast to other developed countries where they are more common during leisure activities. Lightning deaths are more than any other natural disaster and have been steadily increasing since 1967. Lightning is experienced more during pre monsoon season i.e. April to June, and mostly after 2 pm. Male deaths are twice as common as female deaths, owing to men's greater involvement in outdoor activities, a casual approach, and a fearless folk attitude, which tempt them to take unnecessary risks. More than half of all deaths occur between the ages of 15 and 44. This shows that human negligence and careless approach (as male and youth deaths are more common) is one of the deciding factors behind lightning causalities.
For the given period, the top five states with the highest number of deaths are Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha, while the top five states with the highest death rate are Madhya Pradesh, Odisha , Chhattisgarh, D & N Haveli (UT) and Maharashtra. Even though, on an average, Maharashtra experiences only 30 to 40 thunderstorm days, it still ranks high for lightning causalities. |
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Disaster Compensation, Economic & Political Weekly, XLIX ( 23)
2. National Lightning Safety Institute. (2017). The Science of Thunder. Retrieved from
http://lightningsafety.com/nlsi_info/thunder2.html
3. Martin W., Baross J., Kelley D., Russell M., (November 2008), Hydrothermal vents and the origin of life, Nature Reviews Microbiology , 6, pp. 805-814
4. Hile K., (2009). The Handy Weather Answer Book. Canton USA: ( 2nd edition) Visible Ink Press
5. India Meteorological department.(2017).retrieved from http://imd.gov.in/section/nhac/wxfaq.pdf
6. Okafor UV: Lightning injuries and acute renal failure: a review. Ren Fail. 2005;27(2):pp 129–34.
7. Holle, R.L., and R.E. López, 2003: A comparison of current lightning death rates in the U.S. with other locations and times. Intl. Conf. on Lightning and Static Electricity, Blackpool, England, Royal Aeronautical Soc., paper 103-34 KMS, 7
8. Aslar AK, Soran A, Yidiz Y (2001) . Epidemiology, morbidity, mortality and treatment of lightning injuries in a Turkish burns unit. International Journal of Clinical Practise ;55 (8):pp 502–4.
9. Holle R. (2008,April), Annual rates of lightning fatalities by country, paper presented at 20th international lightning detection conference and 2nd international lightning meteorology conference, Tucson, Arizona, USA (pp.1-14)
10. Holle R. (2015), Some aspects of global lightning impacts, paper presented at AMS Annual meeting , Vaisala, Inc., Tucson, Arizona
11. Christian, H. J., et al., Global frequency and distribution of lightning as observed from space by the Optical Transient Detector, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D1), 4005, doi:10.1029/2002JD002347, 2003.
12. Biswas, A., Dalal, K., Hossain, J., Ul Baset, K., Rahman, F., & Rahman Mashreky, S. (2016). Lightning Injury is a disaster in Bangladesh? - Exploring its magnitude and public health needs. F1000Research, 5, 2931. http://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.9537.1
13. Bharadwaj P.,Singh O.,Kumar D., Spatial and temporal variations in thunderstorm casualties over India: Thunderstorm casualties over India, Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography • June 2017
14. Manohar G., Kesarikar A. (2004),, Climatology of thunderstorm activity over the Indian region : II. Spatial distribution, MAUSAM, 55 (1) pp31-40
15. Singh J.,Singh O.,(2015) Lightning fatalities over India: 1979–2011, Meteorological Applications., 22, pp 770–778
16. Nag A.,Holle R., Murphy M.( 2017) Cloud to ground Lightning over Indian Subcontinent ,8th Conference on the Metereological Applications of Lightning data , ,Seattle pp 22-26 |
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