Physical Reasons and Mitigation Strategies for Increased Lightnings in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh lightning victims’ data spanning from 2007 to 2020 were analyzed to relate victims’ activities to lightning strikes under the current upstream water piracy-set heating whence to suggest some mitigation measures. The victims’ data from the online Bangladesh news media bd news 24.com were categorized in columns of places, times of occurrences, engagements of the victims, the numbers of the dead and the injured ones including animals and property losses and the online references. After the initial survey, the data were arranged cumulatively victims’ broad activity-, district-, month- and year-wise. The highlights are - people’s outdoor activities paid a heavier toll than the indoor ones; the riskiest district was Sunamganj; the deadliest month was May; and the worst year was 2018. In most of the cases victims fell in an aerial environment of increased electrical conductivity in the range 10-14 to 10-9 S/m due to a past, ongoing, or sudden shower when the aerial electric field became about 20 times larger than the natural one of 100 V/m to which added about 100 times more victims’ moist body conductivity, crop leaves’/thorns’ conductivity in the range of ∼ 0.3 to 0.9 S/m and the curvature-dependent induced electric field in victims’ working tools and/or ornaments of conductivity ∼ 10-7 to 10-8 S/m. Upstream water piracy caused regional warming and thence the increased lightning. As for the mitigation strategy, agricultural and cutting tools should be made of the poorly conducting carbon-steal. Field workers should work one behind the other maintaining the safe distance to avoid attacks from side flashes and the ground current. Females should wear beaded jewelries. Plates, glasses and cooking pots should be made of China clay and earthen wares. China clay or carbon-steel weights should be used in fishing nets. In any state of life, prostration on the ground gives the best protection. Houses should be protected by setting up lightning rods and making earthen tyle roofs. Date tree growing should be emphasized because of their lightning-favored sharply pointed thorns and leaves.