After weeks of sweltering heat across the nation, the arrival of rain brought relief to many. It rained in Dhaka on 21 April 2023, after 19 days since the last rain in the city. After 11 days of rainless period throughout the country, it finally rained in Sylhet on April 17th. In the same period, the temperature went as high as 43C° in Pabna’s Ishwardi. However, besides the arrival of the most desired rain, thunderstorms also came along which appeared to be another life-threatening weather event.
There are a number of reports of deaths every year due to thunderstorms in Bangladesh. The people who are killed by thunderstorms are mostly those living in villages, working in the crop field, and going outside for work. Thunderstorms occur due to the collision between rapidly upward-moving warm, moist air and downward-moving cooler air in the atmosphere, creating cumulonimbus clouds that produce lightning and thunder. The increase in global temperature resulted in changes in the sea surface temperature. Warmer ocean temperatures increase the availability of moisture, which is a key ingredient in the formation of thunderstorms. As the moisture-rich air rises, it creates instability in the atmosphere, leading to thunderstorms.
Globally, there are 1600-2400 thunderstorms each time, with some estimates reaching up to 50000 per day. In Bangladesh, thunderstorms become more frequent and stronger during the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons, with the month of May experiencing the highest frequency. Thunderstorms can cause significant damage to aviation and river navigation, as well as to standing crops, livestock, infrastructure, and human life.
According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), thunderstorms killed 1476 people between 2010-2016. This mortality rate in Bangladesh is estimated to be as high as 0.9 per 1000000 population per year. This is a fairly high rate while the global range of mortality rate is between 0.2 to 1.7 deaths in 1000000 population. In 2016 alone, 226 deaths were caused by thunderstorms in the country. The number of deaths further increased in the following years, reaching 391, 359, and 363 in 2017, 2019, and 2021, respectively (Figure 1)[1]. The decadal trend from 1990 to 2020 shows a dramatic increase in death by thunderstorms in Bangladesh (Figure 2)[2].
Experts have identified various reasons for the dramatic increase in deaths caused by thunderstorms in Bangladesh. Studies found that there is a clear association between thunderstorms, climate change variability, and global warming. With the increase in global temperature, shreds of evidence are strongly suggesting that changes in rainfall patterns have already taken place globally and regionally. The increase in temperature and changes in rainfall patterns have resulted in more frequent Kalboishakhi storms and lightning strikes. Deforestation, particularly the cutting of tall trees such as palms, is also a significant cause of increased fatalities. During thunderstorms, tall trees absorb lightning strikes, but with the loss of many trees, lightning now strikes open fields and takes many lives. Other factors contributing to the rising death toll
include a lack of medical response and treatment, inadequate public education, insufficient meteorological warnings, and a lack of lightning protection in homes. Consequently, usual weather events like thunderstorms pose serious threat to human life in Bangladesh. In response to this increasing threat, the government declared thunderstorms a natural disaster on 17 May 2016[3].
There are impacts beyond mortality as well, such as injuries, loss of hearing due to louder noises, vision problems, infants suffering trauma, and other bodily harms reported in studies. Besides, crop loss, damage to houses, trees, loss of biodiversity, and livestock, are also frequently occurring. Given the far-reaching effects of thunderstorms, it is imperative that discussions (in both the “supply and demand” side) related to disaster risk reduction prioritize this particular type of disaster in order to mitigate its negative consequences and minimize human casualties.
People affected by thunderstorms mostly belong to vulnerable groups of society. Studies found that most of the thunderstorm victims were mainly male farmers, school-going students, and people involved in leisure activities. This indicates that most of the victims can be characterized as vulnerable for their livelihood and age. Researchers found that those who belong to the age group of 10-29 years are most vulnerable to thunderstorms. In terms of geographical location, most of the victims are living in rural areas.Therefore, there must be supply-side response measures
to tackle the situation as the vulnerable groups are not strong enough to combat the situation on their own[4].
As thunderstorms have been included in the taxonomy of natural disasters in relatively recent times, these disasters have not yet gotten attention as much as other disasters get. People still tend to give less importance and take thunderstorm-related risks very lightly. The same can be found in disaster policy, act, and strategy-related documents as well. As of now, no dedicated section, clause, or strategy has been found incorporated to address thunderstorm-related risks. However, Bangladesh government has taken various measures such as the plantation of palm trees across the country, awareness raising by utilizing printed and electronic media and other platforms, encouraging people to plant specific types of trees like palm and other tall trees, and installing lightning arresters. The government also sent officials of the Disaster Management Department to receive training from Vietnam and brought various sensors from the United States for reducing lightning. The early warning system has been strengthened by adopting an early-warning system, known as a High-Impact Weather Assessment Toolkit, (HIWAT). The Bangladesh Meteorological Department BMD has adopted this toolkit which is able to alert up to 54 hours before a lightning strike. However, the access of the people most vulnerable to thunderstorms like farmers and fishermen to the forecast generated by the toolkit is not open.
Proactive approaches are necessary for mitigating the adversity of extreme weather events like lightning and thunderstorms. Currently, there are various places to make improvements in order to reduce the negative impact of thunderstorms. The awareness programs initiated by the government should be emphasized more and, additionally, institutional knowledge dissemination should be considered for ensuring effectiveness in building awareness. Moreover, it is critical to regularly inform individuals of identified risk zones and times in order to enable them to avoid outdoor activities and seek appropriate shelter for self-protection. The forecast of the early warning systems should be communicated to the people at risk, and their functionality should be maintained properly; emergency planning should highlight thunderstorm issues properly; availability of shelters should be ensured; and adequate constructions that are able to sustain thunderstorms should be ensured. Finally, more lightning arresters can be installed in the street, in open fields, and in wetlands.
Author: Tariqur Rahman Bhuiyan and Md. Abid Azad Sakib
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