Bangladesh sees dramatic rise in lightning deaths linked to climate change – BBC News

The UN says around 300 people die every year from lightning strikes in Bangladesh that’s in comparison to fewer than 20 people annually in the US which is almost double the population lightning is now considered a natural disaster in the country alongside Cyclones floods and earthquakes officials say climate change is leading

To an increase in extreme storms driving up the number of lightning strikes our correspondent reini VI Nathan reports from Bangladesh a day of Celebration turned into a lifetime of grief mimon was due to get married when a storm struck his family took shelter under a Tin Shed it was hit by lightning

Instead of his wedding mimon was arranging funerals I ran to the river bank and found bodies lying everywhere I was at a loss I couldn’t even decide who to go to First all the dead and injured were my close relatives when I found my father’s body I simply burst into

Tears lightning is a big killer in Bangladesh claiming more lives than floods annually the government says extreme storms due to global warming have to arise in fatal lightning strikes over the years a singed football shirt a painful reminder of how deadly lightning can be it belonged to Abdullah a farmer who worked these

Fields when a thunderbolt struck him that for his wife rahana a loss that’s hard to even understand in the my husband fell down here when the lightning hit him some other Farmers brought him to this roadside shop by then he was dead this is an Irreplaceable loss for

Me he won’t come back how do I raise my little boy now he’s only 14 years old now she’s terrified every time she sees a cloud in the sky the majority of victims of lightning strikes in Bangladesh are farmers working in the open they’re more vulnerable to the elements especially in the monsoon

Months despite the risk Farmers here say they have no choice but to work these fields even if it leaves them exposed so what can be done to protect them well the government says it’s planting more tall trees to attract lightning and is developing an early warning text message

System but with hundreds of deaths in Bangladesh every year due to lightning is that enough it’s hoped these workshops run by a local lightning awareness group can help educate people about what to do in the face of a storm but for families like mamons it’s all too late 16 relatives taken by lightning

Reini Vian Arin BBC News Bangladesh

On the day he thought he’d be celebrating his wedding, Mamun buried 16 of his relatives.

They had been killed by lightning on the way to the ceremony.

Dressed in their finest saris and suits, his family members boarded a boat to join Mamun, when a heavy storm struck. As the rain lashed down the boat pulled over and they took shelter under a tin shed on the riverbank, when they were hit.

Bangladesh, which is blighted by extreme weather and heavy storms, suffers an average of 300 deaths by lightning every year, according to the UN.

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48 comments

  4. Do you think Dom would wait for Brian visit if that place won't be some dinner in the part 6? Microsoft is know for helping such communities or microsoft game studios. Just to know what that meant to wall street since last year?

  7. In 2023 , an estimated 6.3 million children under five died, 2.9 million of them in the WHO African Region. This is equivalent to five children under 5 years of age dying every minute. Two thirds of these deaths can be attributed to preventable causes. A third of all these deaths are in the neonatal period. 0:26

  8. Yes under dangerous storms people just start walking towards their paddy fields & farms to see the conditions of the food grains . This causes many deaths from lightning storms. It's the high time to take real actions to reduce adverse influences from climate changes.

  12. Breaking News BBC: One surveillance camera for every 13 people living in London linked to climate change.
    ( they all need power do they not? )
    Breaking News BBC: Critics say The BBC's use of PC monitors in the background of all its News videos are linked to climate change.
    ( they all need power do they not? )
    Breaking News BBC: The growing forced requirement to have a mobile digital device to go about your daily business linked to climate change.
    ( they all need power do they not? )

    People are tired of the hypocrisy BBC.

  19. What can they do ? .. you say build more Trees etc, but what about Lightning Rods they might not look nice but they are effective, you can have shelter and the Lightning Rod will protect it.

  22. Hahaha. BBC reaches new levels of scam and mocking the masses stupidity.
    Oh, yeah, lightning strikes – just any kind of excuse or pretense to absolve backward societies from any responsibility while permitting thieving initiatives to grift financial resources from the Western coffers to place in the laps of the criminal classes.
    Hey ! Right on cue, resources parasitized, by politicians, on one end, and no actual improvement in behavior nor technology on the peasant end – a very nice theft sustaining system for the pseudo elites.

  24. Is this a ploy to flood us with "lightning refugees"?!? Of course, let me guess: only males in their 20's conduct electricity and are at risk of lightning. Women and children aren't affected, so you won't see any of those on the boats. Am I right BBC?

  42. Tin Hunts climate people are running on their Tin Hunts houses to attract lightning to attraction lightning rods Tin Hunts in Tin Hunts metal House good for them Tin Hunts on the new climate change is bringing Tin Hunts climate change of Tin Hunts 0:07

  46. there be a lot more dead if we don't find a way off this planet, climate change is the least of our worry's, even your granny knows not to keep all your eggs on one planet

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