How to protect yourself from lightning

Admiring them from a distance is truly a spectacle. But what is lightning? How are they born? And how can we protect ourselves in the event of a thunderstorm?

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Their instantaneous light illuminates the sky during a storm. Admiring them from a distance is truly a spectacle. But what is lightning? How are they born? And how can we protect ourselves in the event of a thunderstorm?

Also known as lightning bolt or thunderbolt, lightning is an electrical discharge that is generated when imbalances are created between the clouds and the surface of the Earth. Many occur within the clouds themselves.

Index

What is lightning?

During a storm, particles of rain, ice or snow colliding inside the clouds increase the imbalance between the clouds and the ground. These shocks cause the separation of electric charges, since the positive charge, characterized by protons, remains in the upper part of the cloud while the negative charge, i.e. the electrons, remains in the lower part. In technical terms, the electric discharge is created between two bodies that have a high difference in electric potential.

Thus it happens that objects present on the earth, such as trees, bell towers or even the ground are positively charged, creating an imbalance that nature tries to resolve by passing current between the two electrical charges.

The situation that more than the others favors the production of lightning is given by the storm, made up of clouds called cumulonimbus clouds. In fact, lightning can also occur in other weather conditions, such as sandstorms, blizzards, or volcanic dust clouds.

Lightning is very hot

A single bolt of lightning can heat the air around us to five times the temperature on the sun's surface. This heat causes the air to expand and vibrate, producing the sound we hear immediately after seeing the light.

Types of lightning

Lightning strikes are typically divided into Cloud-Cloud, Intranube and Cloud-Soil. The greatest number of discharges, with a ratio of 9 to 1, develops between the clouds or within the cloud itself. The most immediate characteristic for cloud-to-ground lightning is the propagation from the cloud to the ground (descending lightning) or from the earth to the cloud (ascending lightning).

Finally, if we consider the direction of the current, lightning strikes are classified into positive and negative. From this combination derives the fact that there are four types of lightning known to us:

Negative descending, the pilot discharge has a negative charge and starts from the top;
Positive descending, the pilot discharge has a positive charge and starts from the top;
Ascending negative, the pilot discharge has a negative charge and starts from the bottom;
Positive ascending, the pilot discharge has a positive charge and starts from the bottom.

The danger of lightning

Lightning strikes are not only beautiful to look at but in some cases they can pose a danger to humans. In general, the most dangerous are the descendants or cloud-soil ones. The latter constitute a small percentage of all lightning strikes (about 10%), but they are obviously the ones that have the greatest impact on health and on human activities in general. They pose the greatest threat to people's lives, as they directly affect the earth. On the contrary, other types of lightning never leave the clouds, but travel inside them or even look for others with different charges.

Thousands of people die in the world every year because of lightning strikes. Some people manage to survive but report ailments such as memory loss, dizziness, weakness or numbness in the limbs. Likewise, lightning strikes can cause cardiac arrest and severe burns.

As explained by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the most serious damages are those deriving from direct lightning, including death. If, for example, the current passes through the heart it can cause cardiac arrest, while if it passes through the nerve or respiratory centers it can lead to death from respiratory arrest.

How to protect ourselves from lightning

There are numerous rules of conduct to follow in the event of a storm, to minimize the risk of being struck by lightning. To provide them is the ISS which also indicates the various situations in which you can find yourself:

In the mountains or outdoors

It is good to avoid taking shelter under a tree or in a wood: trees are in fact particularly exposed to lightning. And if the tree is isolated, the risk of being hit is even greater. It is good to stay away from poles (even those of bus stops) and from walls. It is also better to avoid talking on a cell phone:

“The best thing, if you can't get indoors, is to stay in an open space, away from sharp or metal objects (including umbrellas, sticks and ice axes). The best position to take is to squat, while it is more dangerous to lie down or stand up ”explains the ISS.

By the sea or the lake

It is dangerous to swim in the sea during a thunderstorm because water is a good electrical conductor. In this case it is better to go away from the beach and take cover. If this is not possible, it is best to crouch outside, without an umbrella and away from sharp or metal objects.

In home

It is the safest place in case of a thunderstorm, although it adopts a series of behaviors: since water is a good conductor, it is better to avoid taking a bath or shower and washing clothes.

Better to disconnect the appliances, which can burn if the house is struck by lightning and avoid talking on the landline phone since the charge could spread through the wires.

By car

The car is also a safe place: it is a metal cage that discharges any lightning on the tires (this is the effect known as Faraday's cage). However, you must avoid touching the car stereo and metal parts.

A sight to be admired but at a safe distance and at a safe distance.

Sources of reference: Higher Institute of Health, Lightning