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Lightning strike!

Lightning has proved to be a major killer in the Pune revenue division this monsoon, claiming 32 lives till September -- exactly half the number of rain-related deaths.

The Pune revenue division comprises the districts of Pune, Satara, Sangli, Sholapur and Kolhapur. According to statistics available at the divisional commissioner's office in Pune, 64 persons died in rain-related tragedies during the period June to September.

While eight deaths occurred because of drowning in flood waters, 20 persons were killed in wall collapses. Four deaths occurred due to other rain-related tragedies.

Lightning, says Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology deputy director Dr A K Kamra, has the propensity to strike high-rise objects. The IITM is a premier meteorological research institute.

A lone person in a vast open field is a "high-rise object" for all practical purposes and a probable target for lightning, explains Dr Kamra.

Or golfers with their golf clubs raised for a stroke may become victims of a lightning strike as they present themselves as ideal "high-rise" objects.

For similar reasons, a fisherman with his fishing rod poised to make a kill or a tree on an open ground offer themselves as targets.

Lightning's propensity to strike raised objects on a flat field is because of the concentrated electric field generated around that point, says the researcher.

Lightning, or the sudden discharge of electricity between the clouds and the ground, heats up the air channel tremendously, causing the air to expand violently. That is heard as thunder due to the development of shock waves.

Although there is no quantitative evidence to indicate that the frequency of lightning strikes has increased, Dr Kamra said researchers believe global warming may trigger heightened electrical activity in the atmosphere since the electrical discharge is dependent on the temperature, pressure, and humidity of air.

Incidentally, Sholapur district recorded the maximum number of deaths (13) due to lightning. Sholapur, in fact, registered the maximum number of rain-related deaths in the division, with another 17 dying in wall collapses and five of other causes.

UNI

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