Kolkata: Kolkata sits in the middle of the biggest lightning hotspot in the country, with more than a third of the deaths of natural disaster in the past two years caused by this natural phenomenon, a study has revealed.
Looks more worrying, it seems like a problem will only get worse in the coming years, because there is a direct correlation between climate change and lightning.
The study, which was conducted by the Indian Tropical Meteorology Institute, Pune (IITM-Pune), revealed that the city was located in the hotspot area which included South Bengal and North Odisha; Other hotspots are in Kerala.
“Kolkata and the edges are increasingly becoming more likely to lightning,” the confirmed IITM-Pune project director (Monsoon Mission) Parta Sarathi Mukherjee.
The numbers issue their claims.
In 2019-2020, from the death of 529 disaster-caused in Bengal, as many as 278 – which was translated to 52.6% – caused by lightning.
By 2020-2021, which was hotter than the previous year, there were 299 lightning deaths from 763 (39.2%, despite more absolute quantities).
In the current year (2021-2022), there were 226 flash deaths recorded between April 1 and August 17.
Scientists warn that the situation will deteriorate in Kolkata and all South Bengal.
This study has found a direct correlation between climate change, lightning and death.
More activity and death of lightning have been recorded in hotter years than others, scientists said, while showing that lightning death does not always reflect the frequency and intensity of the incidence of lightning.
“Overall, lightning contributed almost a third of the death of disaster and caused damage to billions of dollars in infrastructure.
But it attracts a little attention policy maker.
The electricity sector, for example, is the worst patient.
Only early warning and an effective public warning system that can save us , “said the Secretary of the Additional Head of the State (Power), Suresh Kumar.
Sanjib Bandyopadhyay from the Indian Meteorology Department (IMD) shows that IMD does produce early warnings and warnings but recognizes that Miles communication is still a challenge.
“Even though it has multi-channel communication, somehow the last mile gap sometimes still inapprint.
We may need to revive the old method to trigger sirens to warn farmers in the field or workers under the construction of the upcoming lightning storm,” He said.
Lightning threats are largely determined by changing the characteristics of micro-physical environment where they determine the energy level of each strike.
The stronger, the higher the damage that can be caused.
Iitm-Pune Scientist Sunil Pawar said the light energy output in South Bengal was much higher than Guwahati.
Which makes lightning strikes in a more malignant state.
“Lightning brought a massive energy of 500 mega joules.
This produces temperatures of up to 50,000 ° C, 10 times hotter than the sun, although the age is very short.
The impact is quite a disaster for the ferocity that hit the object,” said Professor Anirban Guha, a lightning expert from Tripura University.
Scientists negotiate on the topic during the symposium in lightning held jointly by the University of Calcutta and Tripura University.
“Creating awareness and myth breaking around lightning can reduce death significantly,” Gopa Kumar said from the Kerala-Based Lightning Research & Research Center (LARC), which was credited to reduce lightning death in Kerala from 70 to four per year.
“You need to spread the science behind lighting and make people aware of why and how lightning kills people,” he said.