What If the Next Thunderstorm Was Your Last? A Wake-Up Call for Thunderstorm Safety in Bangladesh
By Dr. Nusrat Hafiz,
Assistant Professor & Director of Women Empowerment Cell
BRAC University, Bangladesh
When the sky darkens and the air crackles with electricity, a storm is no longer just a spectacle—it’s a signal. On April 21st, 2025, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department has issued a thunderstorm alert across multiple districts. With it comes a familiar but terrifying reality: gusty winds, heavy rain, and deadly lightning. While we cannot stop nature’s fury, we can certainly prepare for it. The question is—are we truly ready?
A Silent Killer We Underestimate
Lightning isn’t just a flash of light. It’s a deadly electrical force, claiming hundreds of lives in Bangladesh every year. Between 2019 and 2023 alone, 1,322 people died from lightning strikes—an average of 264 lives lost each year. Over 300 deaths were reported in 2024. What’s even more haunting is that most of these deaths were preventable.
It’s not just about fatalities either—thunderstorms wreak havoc on crops, livestock, infrastructure, and human wellbeing. Victims suffer from burns, hearing loss, trauma, and permanent disabilities. Children are left traumatized; families are shattered. Yet, this disaster often receives less attention than floods or cyclones.
A Geography That Works Against Us
Bangladesh’s geography is both a blessing and a curse. Flanked by the Himalayas in the north and the Bay of Bengal in the south, the country’s position makes it a hotspot for severe thunderstorms, especially in the pre-monsoon season (March–May). Our rivers and warm air feed the storms; the highlands lift them into violent bursts. May, particularly, is the most dangerous month.
Despite recognizing lightning as a natural disaster in 2016, and taking steps like planting palm trees and installing lightning arresters, implementation has been patchy. Trees withered without care. Many lightning shelter projects are incomplete. Most rural areas still lack safe shelters.
What Can We Learn from Others?
While Bangladesh struggles, others have surged ahead.
Singapore, a lightning capital, uses a real-time warning system linked to mobile apps and public signs. Fatalities? Near zero.
India’s “Damini” app sends lightning alerts to rural areas and has reduced deaths by 22%, despite a 57% rise in lightning incidents.
Nepal, Malaysia, and Thailand all invested in public education and national forecasting systems—steps Bangladesh must take urgently.
Where Are We Falling Short?
Despite the recurring devastation caused by thunderstorms and lightning in Bangladesh, there are glaring gaps in how we prepare and respond. First and foremost, public awareness is alarmingly low. Many people still rely on myths or misinformation, leaving them dangerously exposed during lightning events. There is a lack of basic knowledge on what to do when thunder roars or the sky begins to flash.
Secondly, the shortage of shelters, especially in rural and open-field areas, poses a grave threat. Farmers, students, and outdoor workers often have nowhere safe to go during a storm, increasing the likelihood of fatalities. Third, training initiatives are virtually non-existent. There is no widespread system to educate citizens on lightning safety, whether through schools, community centers, or local government bodies.
Another critical failure lies in communication. Early warnings—when issued—often fail to reach those most at risk. People in remote villages, coastal areas, or without access to digital media remain uninformed until it is too late. Most importantly, there is a major shortfall in policy. Bangladesh lacks a comprehensive national strategy for lightning safety, and even where policies exist, implementation is patchy and ineffective. This disconnection between planning and action leaves millions vulnerable every year.
What Must Be Done—Now
To protect lives, immediate and coordinated action is needed. Firstly, Bangladesh should develop and launch a National Thunderstorm Alert App, modeled after India’s Damini app. This should deliver real-time alerts and safety instructions in local languages to help people prepare in advance.
Secondly, the shelter network must be expanded, especially in open spaces, schools, and farming regions, to ensure people have safe havens during storms. In tandem, we need to install more lightning arresters, not just in urban centers but across vulnerable rural and wetland zones where strikes are frequent.
Education is key to lasting change. Lightning safety information must be embedded into school textbooks so that children learn how to protect themselves from a young age. Meanwhile, training programs should target local leaders, farmers, and students, led by government and NGOs.
To ensure no one is left behind, early warning systems must be expanded to reach the last mile—whether through SMS, radio broadcasts, mosque loudspeakers, or community megaphones. Lastly, community drills and simulations should be held, particularly during peak thunderstorm seasons like April and May, so that preparedness becomes part of everyday life.
These steps are not just recommendations—they are lifelines. The time to act is now, before another bolt of lightning turns into another preventable tragedy.
Thunderstorms aren’t just dramatic weather—they are killers in disguise. And as climate change intensifies, the frequency and severity of these events are only going to rise. If we don’t act, the cost will be paid in blood—of farmers, children, workers, and families left behind.
This alert on April 21st shouldn’t just be a weather notice. It should be a wake-up call. Let’s not wait for the next flash to take another life. Let’s prepare. Let’s protect. Let’s prevent.
