Lightning strikes are on the rise in urban areas

On the eve of the XIV International Conference on Atmospheric Electricity (ICAE), that begins today in Rio, Osmar Pinto Junior of the National Institute Space Research (“Inpe”) has released the latest data on lightning in Brazil.

It seems that Brazil remains the place on the planet with the most lightning strikes per year: around 50 million, with over 20 million in the Amazon, a huge, warm tropical region. Although the total number of stikes remain stable, the number of strikes in urban areas has risen, says Pinto Junior.

And as for deaths from lightning, the average over the last decade in Brazil has been 130. It is estimated that another 300 people survive close encounters with lightning annually.

Pinto Junior says that 85% of lightning deaths occur in open countryside (usually on farms) in rural areas. Deaths also are common on beaches. Lightning can kill inside a home; people talking on wireless phones, taking a bath (with electric water heating) or just being very close to electrical home appliances, such as a refrigerator.

In the open, a simple rule of thumb is to avoid being the tallest object; it is better to be in the middle of tall trees than in an open field.

The state of São Paulo leads in number of deaths by lightning in Brazil, although it is not a leader in number of lightning strikes. “This is simply a matter of a larger population,” says Pinto Junior.