Lightning is fatal, Be careful on the phone!

When there is thunder and lightning, would you turn on the television or radio? Obviously not! Because it is a known fact that using these equipment during lightning could electrocute us. Now the time has come to say 'No' to the use of mobile phones too during lightning.

UK doctors recently warned of the danger of being struck by lightning when using mobile phones outdoors during stormy weather. In the British Medical Journal, they highlight the case of a teenager left with severe injuries after being struck by lightning when talking on her phone. According to them, the metal in the phone directs the current into the body.

A 15-year-old girl had got struck by lightning while talking on her phone in a large London park during stormy weather. She has no memory of the incident, but had suffered cardiac problems and had to be given artificial respiration.

One year later, she still has to use a wheelchair and has severe physical difficulties as well as brain damage, leading to many emotional problems as well. In the ear to which she was holding the phone, she has a burst eardrum, leading to hearing loss.

When a person is hit by lightning, the high resistance of the human skin causes the lightning charge to flow over the body - often known as an 'external flashover'. But some of the current can flow through the body.

The more that flows through, the more internal damage it causes. Conductive materials in direct contact with the skin, such as liquid or metal objects, increase the risk that the current will flow through the body and therefore cause internal injury.

Rare occurrence

The doctors at Northwick Park Hospital in London, who treated the girl's hearing injuries, has found three other cases of people being hit by lightning while talking on mobile phones - all of whom died of their injuries - in China, Korea and Malaysia.

They said although such cases were rare, it was a public health issue and people needed to understand the risks.

If you're struck by lightning on its own, it will flash over your body, but if you're holding a phone it will internalise and cause much worse injuries. Children particularly won't realise and understand the risk. One of the guidelines in Australia regarding the issue is not to hold mobile phones outside during storms.

Emergency call

Paul Taylor, a scientist at the Met Office, said it could also be dangerous to carry a mobile phone in your pocket during a storm.

It is a well known fact that wearing or carrying metallic objects can increase the likelihood of injury by lightning. It certainly adds to the intensity of the skin damage and the article certainly gives weight to this.

But, holding a very small amount of metal inside an insulated plastic case, is unlikely to enhance the electric field enough to increase the risk of a strike much further. The risk is that people may not have their mobile phones with them to call emergency services if someone is struck by lightening.

We hope that the above information will make you cautious. Next time you find yourself talking on your mobile phone in the middle of a thunderstorm, you may want to cut the conversation short!

Janani Amarasekara

****

Lightning facts

There are, on average, about 1,800 thunderstorms in progress at any one time around the world, with 100 lightning strikes taking place every second.

A lightning bolt travels at about 14,000mph and heats up the air around it to 30,000 degrees Celsius - five times hotter than the surface of the Sun.

The chance of being hit by lightning is about one in three million.