What happens during a thunderstorm?
Lighting is a massive electrical discharge which is caused due to the build-up of electrical energy in storm clouds. The build-up is caused due to various factors such as the movement of warm and cold air, the formation of ice crystals which results in oppositely charged regions. Lightning can move across clouds and strike the ground when the earth's surface and the objects on the ground are of opposite charge.
A lightning bolt has about one billion (1,000,000,000) joules of energy and while passing through the air it heats it up to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit or 27,700 degrees Celsius. According to researchers lightning may have even played a part in evolution! The heat could be responsible for the conversion of elements into compounds that may have led to the creation of life.
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While it is very rare for one to experience a lightning strike, it does happen, and it is necessary that precautions are not taken lightly. According to the US National Weather Service, lightning strikes are one of the leading causes of weather-related deaths. One of the most common ways to know that lightning is around the corner is when you feel the hair on your head or body start to stand up. A photo that had gone viral recently that shows two brothers in the United States grinning with their hair in the end. The photo was taken in 1975 during a family trip to California's Sequoia National Park. Minutes later the entire group was struck by a bolt of massive lightning.
What is the effect of a lightning strike?
Being struck directly with such a massive electrical jolt causes multiple problems to the body. It can lead to cardiac arrest, blood vessel tears, unconsciousness, motor, and sensory dysfunction. Even if the lightning does not cause death it can lead to life long neurological issues, brain damage, memory loss, and severe burns.
What not to do during a thunderstorm?
- The most important advice given since childhood is to avoid open spaces and never to take shelter under a tree. Taking cover inside a building is the safest option.
- It is also not advisable to carry any kind of metal pole or an umbrella during a thunderstorm.
- Using landlines phones during a thunderstorm is considered to be dangerous. In fact, contact with plumbing can also be potentially dangerous.
- Activities such as swimming during a thunderstorm can make you vulnerable to a lightning strike
- Contrary to popular belief rubber shoes offer no protection against lightning
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