Effects of lightning as a disaster in Himalayan region (original) (raw)
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Lightning threats in Nepal: occurrence and human impacts
Nepal has a very large topographical variation; this elevation change has a major influence on lightning occurrence and human casualties. The Himalayan peaks cover the northern part of Nepal with low population density, the middle is covered by hills with intermediate density, and the southern plain with the greatest density. This study will leverage lightning detection by Vaisala's Global Lightning Dataset GLD360 network with a recent detailed compilation of lightning casualties from 2011 through 2020. Over one million lightning strokes per year were detected from 2016 through 2020. Stroke density is least over high elevations to the north, moderate in hilly regions, and very frequent over the south. The thunderstorm season begins in March and ceases by August after the annual monsoon cycle. Of all the natural disasters, lightning has been recorded to be the second highest killer after earthquakes. The Ministry of Home Affairs reports an average of 103 lightning deaths per year. The fatality rate of 3.8 deaths million À1 year À1 is highest among the South Asian countries. Fatalities over high mountains are rare, with most casualties over the center of Nepal. Lightning Fatality Risk is not a good indicator of the fatalities that occur in a district.
Journal of Earth System Science, 2019
The impacts of elevation, terrain slope and vegetation cover on lightning activity are investigated for contrasting environments in the northeast (NE) (21-29 • N; 86-94 • E) and the northwest (NW) (28-36 • N; 70-78 • E) regions of the Himalayan range. Lightning activity is more at a higher terrain slope/elevation in the dry NW region where vegetation cover is less, whereas it is more at a lower terrain slope/elevation in the moist NE region where vegetation cover is more. In the wet NE, 86% (84%) of the annual lightning flash rate density (LFRD) occurs at an elevation <500 m (terrain slope <2%) and then sharply falls off at a higher elevation (terrain slope). However, only 49% (47%) of LFRD occurs at an elevation of <500 m (terrain slope <2%) and then rather gradually falls off at a higher elevation (terrain slope) in the dry NW. The ratio of the percentages of LFRD and elevation points is much higher in the NW than in the NE above an elevation of ∼1000 m. The impacts of terrain slope and elevation in enhancing the lightning activity are stronger in the dry NW than in the moist NE. The correlation coefficient of the LFRD with the normalised difference vegetation index is higher in the NW than in the NE on both the regional and annual scales. Results are discussed as a caution in using any single climate variable as a proxy for projecting a change in the lightning-climate relationships in the scenario of global warming.
Life on Chure and Siwalik Under the Extreme Threat of Lightning
Amrit Research Journal
Life on Chure and Siwalik Under the Extreme Threat of Lightning Highlights • Lightning is the second highest killer after earthquake in Nepal. • Majority of the lightning fatalities have been reported from the Chure and Siwalik range in Nepal. • The unsafe shelters, dependence of majority of the people on manual agriculture and lack of awareness in the Chure region can be attributed for large fatalities in the region. • The height of the Chure/Siwalik range facing towards the southern plains could form a conducive environment for the occurrence of ground flashes and hence to number of fatalities.
The major lightning regions and associated casualties over India
Natural Hazards, 2020
Lightning, a climate-related highly localized natural phenomenon, claims lives and damage properties. These losses could only be reduced by the identification of active seasons and regions of lightning. The present study identifies and correlates the lightning-prone regions with the number of casualties reported over India at the state/union territory level. The seasonal and monthly composite satellite data of Lightning Imaging Sensor for the duration of 16 years (1998-2013) have been analyzed in this study for the identification of the major lightning-prone seasons and regions over India. The casualties due to lightning have also been estimated using data from Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India, National Crime Record Bureau report of India. The spatial distribution analysis reveals that lightning occurs mostly in hilly regions over India throughout the year (26 flash/sq. km/yr) and, however, causes lesser casualties because of the sparse population over the hilly terrain. The seasonal analysis reveals the most lightning phenomena occur during the pre-monsoon period (40-45 flash/sq. km/yr) over the northeast region of India. During the winter period, the lightning dominates over the northern parts of India such as Jammu and Kashmir. The state-wise casualties' study reveals that maximum casualties are reported in Madhya Pradesh (313 deaths), Maharashtra (281 deaths) and Orissa (255 deaths) on an average per annum. The favorable climatic conditions, such as availability of moisture content, unstable atmosphere and strong convection, cause severe cases of lightning over the regions of Orissa and Maharashtra.
Satellite-based observation of lightning climatology over Nepal
Journal of Earth System Science
The lightning climatology over Nepal is analysed in detail for the first time. For the analysis, we utilised the satellite-based lightning imaging sensor data for the period from 1998 to 2013. A comparison of these climatological results is also performed with two ground-based lightning detection networks, namely, the World Wide Lightning Location Network and the Global Lightning Network for 3 yr from 2011 to 2013. On analysing the data obtained from the three sources, we conclude that the months of April and May are extremely vulnerable in the perspective of lightning hazards in Nepal, in contrast to the results reported previously which indicated that the maximum lightning activity occurred in the month of June. The central and eastern regions of the country receive the majority of lightning strikes during the months of April and May. The present finding is supported by the thunderstorm frequency data obtained from the disaster Information Management System, Nepal and also from thunder-day data from NOAA.
Thunderstorm characteristics in Nepal during the pre-monsoon season 2012
Atmospheric Research, 2014
A training period of lightning location data usage has been carried out in Nepal during the pre-monsoon season April-June 2012. The training was one part of a Finnish-Nepalese Project (FNEP) between the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology of Nepal (DHM) and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI). FNEP aimed for the development of operational meteorological readiness in a developing country such as Nepal. The lightning location training included the introduction to lightning location techniques and principles and the actual hands-on training for the operational DHM forecasters. The lightning location system used was the Vaisala long range Global Lightning Dataset 360 (GLD360), which has practically a global coverage. During the three months of training, a dataset of Nepalese lightning was also collected, indicating the pre-monsoon thunderstorm characteristics of Nepal.
Lightning in Northeast Bangladesh: Relation with climatic variables, consequences and adaptation
Journal of Tropical Resources and Sustainable Science (JTRSS), 2021
In Bangladesh, the lightning during a thunderstorm has recently been officially declared as natural disaster, resulting in numerous fatalities each year, especially in the country's northeast. This study aims to look into the relationships between lightning and climatic variables, the spatial distribution of deaths, people's perceptions of the disaster's consequences and adaptation measures, and the influencing factors that make people victims in Sunamganj District. Several statistical approaches, such as descriptive statistics, correlation, and the Mann-Kendall Test, were used to meet the study objectives by examining time series data of climatic variables, lightning events, and household survey data. The data imply that lightning strikes have a positive and statistically significant relationship with climatic variables such as temperature, rainfall, humidity, and air pressure. Moreover, that lightning strikes may become more common in the future as climatic variables i...
Unusual lightning electric field waveforms observed in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Uppsala, Sweden
Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, 2017
Unusual lightning events have been observed in Uppsala, Sweden, and Kathmandu, Nepal, using essentially the same electric field measuring system developed at Uppsala University. They occurred in the storms that also generated "normal" lightning events. The unusual events recorded in Uppsala occurred on one thunderstorm day. Similar events were observed in Kathmandu on multiple thunderstorm days. The unusual events were analyzed in this study assuming them to be positive ground flashes (þCGs), although we cannot rule out the possibility that some or most of them were actually cloud discharges (ICs). The unusual events were each characterized by a relatively slow, negative (atmospheric electricity sign convention) electric field waveform preceded by a pronounced opposite-polarity pulse whose duration was some tens of microseconds. To the best of our knowledge, such unusual events have not been reported in the literature. The average amplitudes of the opposite-polarity pulses with respect to those of the following main waveform were found to be about 33% in Uppsala (N ¼ 31) and about 38% in Kathmandu (N ¼ 327). The average durations of the main waveform and the preceding opposite-polarity pulse in Uppsala were 8.24 ms and 57.1 μs, respectively, and their counterparts in Kathmandu were 421 μs and 39.7 μs. Electric field waveforms characteristic of negative ground flashes (-CGs) were also observed, and none of them exhibited an opposite-polarity pulse prior to the main waveform. Possible origins of the unusual field waveforms are discussed.