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Deadly bijlee: Why lightning is becoming a big killer in India [Times Nation]: Hotter summers combined with heavy rain lead to rise in strikes while lack of awareness makes the poor more vulnerable

by CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT In MP where at least 80 people have been killed by lightning in July this year it is a combination of an extremely hot summer followed by a heavy monsoon that often leads to a surge in lightning strikes If land gets hotter due to an excessively hot summer, monsoon rain comes in contact with the baking earth heat is transferred, lighting strikes begin within half an hour to three hours says a weather expert The maximum deaths 35 occurred in Jabalpur division which has been tagged a severe lightning vulnerable zone followed by Shahdol, Sagar divisions Senior Met scientist Bhopal circle Ved Prakash Singh says that when southeasterly winds hit the Satpura Range strong clouds develop due to local orographic hill mountain factors triggering a blaze of lightning strikesFormer IMD director general K J Ramesh says global warming has an indirect bearing on lightning strikes as it impacts rainbearing systems There is more lightning in August, September as these are months of heavy rain he explainsAPPS, JUGAAD However deaths are completely preventable with awareness, lightning protection measures say experts The govt had launched a mobile application called Damini in 2020 developed by IITMPune The app monitors lightning activity, sends out GPS alerts in a 40 km radius Precautions are also listed in the appSome districts have installed low cost conductors made with secondhand bicycle wheel rims bamboo, s The rim is fixed on the top of a bamboo pole atop buildings acting as the lightning rodStates like Odisha UP, West Bengal have also announced plans to plant palm trees that act as a barrier to lightning Satyabrata Sahu Odishas additional chief secretary of the revenue, disaster management department described palm trees as natural lightning arresters Thats why we have put restrictions on felling these trees The govt will spend around Rs 20 crore for the plantation of 19 lakh palm trees this year We are also discussing with IIT to develop an early warning system he addedAwareness campaigns in local languages, community meetings are held periodically to inform people about safe practices like using a pucca building as a shelter rather than a tree or staying out in the openBut there is a long road to travel before deaths can be stopped completely For one the govt is yet to declare it a natural disaster, focus manpower, resources in awareness generation The other is a largely unlettered rural population with little or no access to smartphones let alone apps, other information servicesMost people tend to panic, get the advice we give them says Daya Shankar Mishra from Jharkhands Jamshedpur who works with the Lightning Resilient India CampaignReporting by Himanshi Dhawan in Delhi Ankur Sirothia in Bhopal Hemanta Pradhan in Bhubaneswar Rajiv Mani in Prayagraj BK Mishra CS Jha Azad Alok Chamaria in Bihar KA Gupta ASRP Mukesh in Jharkhand
Published in The Times of India (Online) (05.08.2024)
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