Why in the News?

• Severe weather conditions in Bihar led to multiple casualties, with lives lost due to lightning strikes and storm-related incidents.

Key Points:

About Lightning:

⇒ Lightning is a powerful and visible electrical phenomenon that takes place when there is a buildup of electrical charges within clouds and between clouds and the ground.

⇒ The discharge of this electrical energy results in a brilliant flash of light and a rapid expansion of air, creating the characteristic thunder that accompanies lightning.

⇒ Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning is dangerous because it can electrocute people due to its high electric voltage and current.

Strikes Earth’s Surface:

⇒ The Earth is a good conductor of electricity.

⇒ While electrically neutral, it is relatively positively charged compared to the middle layer of the cloud.

⇒ As a result, an estimated 20-25% of the current flow is directed towards the Earth.

⇒ It is this current flow that results in damage to life and property.

⇒ Lightning has a greater probability of striking raised objects on the ground, such as trees or buildings.

⇒ Lightning Conductor is a device used to protect buildings from the effect of lightning.

⇒ A metallic rod, taller than the building, is installed in the walls of the building during its construction.

⇒ The most lightning activity on Earth is seen on the shore of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela.

⇒ At the place where the Catatumbo river falls into Lake Maracaibo, an average 260 storm days occur every year, and October sees 28 lightning flashes every minute - a phenomenon referred to as the Beacon of Maracaibo or the Everlasting Storm.

⇒ India ranks among the five countries worldwide with an early warning system for lightning.

⇒ The system provides forecasts ranging from five days to as close as three hours before the occurrence of lightning.

Geographical Distribution in India:

⇒ Lightning frequency is highest in the northeastern states and West Bengal, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Bihar.

⇒ However, the number of lightning-related deaths is higher in central Indian states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.

⇒ Bihar is one of the most vulnerable states to lightning strikes, with a significant number of deaths reported annually.

⇒ According to the Bihar Economic Survey (2024-25) report, Bihar witnessed 275 lightning or thunderstorm-related deaths in 2023