India recorded 34 % extra lightning strikes from April 2020 to March 2021 than it did in the identical interval of 2019-2020. Even although there are satellites, radar and lightning networks which can be used to make forecasts and challenge alerts, India has the best demise price attributable to lightning. In its second yr, Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, convener of Lightning Resilient Campaign India, says the demise toll has come right down to 1,697. Excerpts from an interview with Anjali Marar:
What are the salient options of the annual report?
India recorded 1.85 crore lightning strikes from April 2020 to March 2021. For the identical interval in 2019-2020, whole lightning incidents stood at 1.38 crore with 60 per cent extra deaths. Punjab (331 per cent), Bihar (168 per cent), Haryana (164 per cent), Puducherry (117 per cent), Himachal Pradesh (105 per cent) and West Bengal (100 per cent) reported a rise in lightning strikes. Whereas, a declining pattern was noticed in Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya and Tripura for a similar interval.
Odisha topped in lightning incidents final yr at 20.43 lakh strikes, however its demise toll stood at 156 and the state ranked fourth behind Bihar (401), Uttar Pradesh (238) and Madhya Pradesh (228). Casualties had been highest amongst grownup males, farmers working within the fields, and the commonest type of demise was taking refuge beneath lightning victims. Lightning primarily based mapping for the tribal space resulted in excessive mortality among the many tribals, as they lived in tin homes and their livelihood relied on the land.
Can you inform us about a few of the main intervention measures carried out to cope with electrical energy?
Lightning is a localized phenomenon however its hazard and impression are fast, therefore the necessity for collaborative efforts. From creating consciousness to coverage interventions, a variety of approaches are wanted. Firstly, training and creating consciousness among the many individuals in regards to the risks of electrical energy was began. Two, offering early warning forecasts – from medium vary (as much as 5 days), brief vary (as much as two days), nowcast (as much as six hours) and alerts had been used from the India Meteorological Department’s Damini cell app.
Third, campaigns specializing in do’s and don’ts had been carried out throughout lightning strikes. We began a village danger administration program beneath which hill tops, ponds and so on. had been categorised as danger areas. Later, individuals had been made conscious by putting in lightning arresters, conductors and suggested to take shelter inside everlasting buildings to make these locations protected. Finally, lightning safety units had been advisable on authorities institutions and colleges. It was adopted in Odisha, Jharkhand and Northeast.
At the policy-level, particular by-laws had been launched in Odisha and Jharkhand permitting building of any constructing on two or extra flooring with out electrical security gear. Special chapters on electrical energy had been included within the college curriculum of Odisha, Gujarat, Nagaland.
In addition, we’re participating with ministries of fisheries, animal husbandry, forests and different stakeholders to strengthen analysis on the native stage.
How are Indian states performing?
There are about twelve states together with Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Nagaland, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala which have acknowledged lightning strike as a state calamity. But, not all states have been profitable in decreasing the casualties attributable to lightning to date. States like Odisha, Jharkhand, Nagaland and Gujarat are doing higher.
Odisha is the most effective performing state and has adopted a ‘zero demise’ strategy.
The state has its personal community for early warning and public notification methods, educated and sensitized individuals about lightning deaths, do’s and don’ts by means of NGOs and group colleges. People have been made conscious. Lightning units have been put in in cyclone shelter buildings and colleges.
Similar proactive steps had been taken by the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Gujarat and Jharkhand. In comparability, power-related danger mitigation measures haven’t been actively initiated by the governments of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Some of those states would not have catastrophe administration groups or specialists working beneath the district stage.
Does local weather change have a task?
An extraordinarily heat land floor and availability of moisture favor native convective actions, resulting in lightning. The temperature is unquestionably growing attributable to world warming. Therefore, a rise within the incidence of lightning will be linked to both a rise in hotter floor areas, a rise in moisture ranges, or each.
Incidents of lightning are growing in these areas. Conversely, there are areas the place lightning incidents have decreased in a sure yr, nevertheless it was discovered that within the following yr, lightning of upper depth occurred in the identical space as was noticed in Jharkhand throughout 2014 and 2015. The discount in incidence might also be linked to a weak monsoon in an space and local weather change.
Although we’ve began mapping and counting of lightning strikes in India from April 2019 onwards, there was a rise within the incidents famous throughout 2019 – 2020 vs 2020 – 2021.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
