South Asian experts call for urgent action to curb lightning deaths
Civil society leaders and lightning experts from several South Asian countries have called for coordinated regional action to reduce the growing number of deaths caused by lightning strikes, warning that climate change is rapidly intensifying the threat.
They made the call during an international webinar titled Lightning Risk Management, jointly organised on Thursday by Alliance for Empowering Partnership in collaboration with COAST Foundation, National Disaster Management Authority, Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council and Humanitarian Aid International.
Experts said lightning has emerged as one of the fastest-growing climate-related hazards in South Asia, with Bangladesh and Nepal witnessing sharp rises in fatalities and frequency of incidents, while India is also experiencing a significant increase in lightning-related disasters.
They stressed the need for Standard Operating Procedures (SoP), early warning systems, community-based lightning risk reduction protocols, mass awareness campaigns and coordinated efforts between government and non-government organisations.
Md. Iqbal Uddin of COAST Foundation welcomed the participants, while Zahabiya Doctor of Humanitarian Aid International moderated the session. Colonel (retd.) Sanjay Srivastava, Chairman of the Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council and Convener of the Lightning Resilient India Campaign, delivered the keynote presentation.
Other speakers included Sudhanshu S. Singh, founder of Humanitarian Aid International; Gawher Nayeem Wahra of Disaster Forum Bangladesh; and Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of COAST Foundation.
Sanjay Srivastava highlighted the importance of early action protocols and community safety measures to reduce lightning-related deaths. He warned that rising global temperatures are increasing lightning incidents, noting that a one-degree Celsius rise in temperature could increase lightning strikes by 12 per cent.
He emphasised the need for greater public awareness, tree plantation, safe shelters, localised action plans and stronger climate adaptation policies. He also underscored the importance of documenting indigenous knowledge and ensuring community participation in lightning risk reduction initiatives.
Sudhanshu S. Singh identified poor coordination among institutions and communities as a major challenge and called for stronger local, national and global collaboration in knowledge sharing, policy development and implementation of lightning safety protocols.
Gawher Nayeem Wahra acknowledged initiatives taken by the Bangladesh government, including the installation of lightning arresters and tree plantation programmes, but said community participation remained limited and needed to be strengthened.
Rezaul Karim Chowdhury described the recent deaths of 14 people in eight districts of Bangladesh in a single day from lightning strikes as alarming and urged coordinated action among the government, NGOs and local communities.
Iqbal Uddin said lightning now claims more lives annually in Bangladesh than floods or cyclones and called for a comprehensive national action plan and Standing Operating Procedure on lightning risk management.
Participants from Pakistan, Nigeria, China, India, Bangladesh and Nepal also joined the webinar and stressed the importance of raising public awareness about safety measures during lightning, identifying high-risk areas and developing effective treatment and response protocols for victims.
