Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed :
The death toll from thunderstorm and lightning has increased in Bangladesh recently. Climate experts from their research have commented that Bangladesh has experienced 40 thunderstorms in one per sq. kilometer. The country is one of the thunder prone areas in the world. The reason for this abnormality is the increase of black clouds in the atmosphere. Scientists are blaming the increase in the amount of nitrogen and sulfur in the air behind the formation of black clouds. Eight million lightning strikes occur every one minute on earth. Developed countries have created scientific information-based management and risk-based awareness. As a result, the number of casualties in East Asia, including the United States and European countries, has been greatly reduced. Although there are many myths and imaginary stories about lightning, the cause of lightning has become clear for the sake of science. Lightning occurs in the formation and separation of positive and negative electric charges in the atmosphere.The world’s largest thunderstorm occurs throughout the year in Venezuela’s Maracaibo Lake. The Congo Basin in Africa, on the other hand, is second.
Although lightning is a natural disaster, its scale is currently affecting people’s lives and the authorities are now very active in collecting data or creating databases on the damage. At the government level, data provided by the Ministry of Relief and Disaster Management, various NGOs and the media shows that more than 3,000 people have been killed in lightning strikes across the country in the last five years. The trend has been steadily increasing since 2011. There have been reports of 351 deaths in 2016 and 262 deaths in 2017, 57 deathsuptoApril 2018, 16 deaths upto May 2021 and more than 400 injuriesare mostly in crop fields, ponds and haors in rural areas. On an average, more than 250 people die every year in Bangladesh due to lightning. According to the Disaster Management Department, BUET, Disaster Forum, media and other sources, more than 2,000 people have been killed in lightning strikes from 2010 to 2019.Analysts are blaming human unconsciousness for so many deaths. They say the death toll is higher due to the country’s marginalized and illiterate people not having the right idea about lightning. The people of this country, especially the peasant and fishing community in the haor area work in the open field even during storms, rains and thunderstorms.
Domestic and foreign research says that lightning has increased in the country in the last few years along with Kalbaishakhi. Experts have not been able to identify a single cause of death due to lightning. Much of the conceptual data they suggest is an increase in the amount of lead in temperature and air, an increase in the use of metals in public life, an increase in the use of mobile phones and towers, an alarming decline in the number of tall trees in forests or countryside, flooding and river drying are the reasons for lightning and thunderstorms. All the above-mentioned problems are connected to climate change and warming. The world-renowned science journal states that one degree rise in temperature increases the risk of lightning by 12 percent. Lightning has been identified as the second biggest weather-related killer, as experts say. Deaths from lightning can be controlled to some extent using technology, but there is no substitute for awareness and caution. Without taking the necessary steps to deal with this disaster right now, it could become permanent.
In the United States, 400 to 450 people were killed in a year before by lightning. Now 20 to 40 people are killed. Only 17 people were killed last year. Researchers say that this has been made possible by urbanization. There are more people in the city now than ever before. Long poles of electricity and earthing system with poles prevent loss of life due to lightning. Our rural areas have become unprotected due to the destruction of large trees. Earlier there was the provision of earthing on the roof of the village zamindar house, on the roof of the temple or in the minaret of the mosque and that protected the people from the loss of life due to lightning. Data analysis shows that the highest number of deaths took place inhaor areas of Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, Brahmanbaria, Satkhira-Jessore, Chapainawabganj and Dinajpur. Last year, about 58 percent of people died while working in fields, rivers, canals and beels. The risk of lightning can be reduced by installing mobile phone tower and lightning arestores in these areas. It is being used in almost all Rural Electrification Board and Border Guard installations.
There is no substitute of survival against lightning but awareness. The number of deaths can be reduced if we are careful. The sad fact is that there is not much research on lightning in Bangladesh. However, large-scale research is underway in Europe, Japan and the United States. The fear is that the death toll from lightning is increasing day by day more than any other disaster. Although the government has declared lightning a disaster, but there are few visible initiatives to mitigate the risks. Now is the time to install lightning forecasting and area detection devices throughout the countrey. Some devices have been installed in several places but they have not yet been able to provide forecasting. We will have to wait for some more time for this. It is believed that the initiative to plant 5 million palm saplings across the country at an early stage to address the risk of lightning may not appeare so effective.
However, we must not be unkind to nature. If we are cruel to nature we may face revenge from nature. So, it is time to save our environment. Disasters like thunderstorms and lightning will be reduced if only environment and climate stand and co-exist in a normal way.
(Dr. Forqan is former Deputy Director General, Bangladesh Ansar & VDP).
