WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Why Are Lightning Strikes Killing Fewer People?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and this is another classic episode from

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<v Speaker 1>our erstwhile host, Christian Sagar. In recent years, reported instances

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<v Speaker 1>of death by lightning strike here in the United States

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<v Speaker 1>are way down. The year this episode originally aired, seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>was a record low. About eighteen and twenty nineteen saw

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<v Speaker 1>a couple more. But still, let's explore why this is,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff is Christian Sagar. Across the United States,

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<v Speaker 1>lightning has killed fifteen people so far in that's according

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<v Speaker 1>to National Weather Service data. While those deaths are tragic,

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<v Speaker 1>that's fewer than half the thirty eight lightning deaths that

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<v Speaker 1>the nation had in sixteen. And we're on track to

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<v Speaker 1>have the lowest number of recorded lightning fatalities since nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>forty because that's the earliest year for which the federal

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<v Speaker 1>governed MINT has data. The government actually maintains a year

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<v Speaker 1>by year breakdown of deaths from lightning and other weather

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<v Speaker 1>threats during that period. But if you look at those

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<v Speaker 1>historical numbers, what's most startling is the long term decrease

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<v Speaker 1>in lightening deaths over that period. In nineteen forty three,

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<v Speaker 1>the most lethal year on record, four hundred and thirty

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<v Speaker 1>two people were killed by lightning, and throughout the nineteen forties,

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<v Speaker 1>and average of three hundred and twenty nine point three

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<v Speaker 1>people died each year, but in the nineteen fifties. In

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen sixties, the rates started dropping dramatically and steadily

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<v Speaker 1>kept decreasing, to the point where over the two thousand tens,

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<v Speaker 1>the average annual fatality rate is about a tenth of

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<v Speaker 1>what it was during the nineteen forties. So why are

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<v Speaker 1>so many fewer people being killed by lightning these days

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<v Speaker 1>than in the past. Well, one major reason is urbanization.

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<v Speaker 1>In nineteen forty, according to the US Census Bureau, forty

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<v Speaker 1>three point five per cent of the Name Sations population

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<v Speaker 1>lived in rural areas. By two thousand and ten, that

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<v Speaker 1>number was down to nineteen point three percent, with more

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<v Speaker 1>than eighty percent of the population living in cities. And today,

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<v Speaker 1>according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the average Americans

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<v Speaker 1>spends nine of their time indoors, which generally is the

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<v Speaker 1>safest place to be during a lightning storm. But that

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't mean that you can't be injured or killed by

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<v Speaker 1>lightning inside a house, and seven decades ago, not only

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<v Speaker 1>where there are more people in rural areas, but they

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<v Speaker 1>also spent more of their time working outdoors, where they

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<v Speaker 1>were more vulnerable to lightning, as Ronald Holla, and meteorologist

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<v Speaker 1>who studies lightning deaths, explained in the Atlantic and farmers

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<v Speaker 1>in the nineteen forties still used teams of horses to

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<v Speaker 1>pull their plows, and it took them all day to

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<v Speaker 1>finish tilling a twenty acre field. Modern farmers, in contrast,

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<v Speaker 1>are more likely to be sitting inside a fully enclosed

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<v Speaker 1>tractor with a metal housing that offers lightning protection. When

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<v Speaker 1>people are killed by lightning these days, it often happens

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<v Speaker 1>when they're enjoying some outdoor leisure activity. That's according to

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<v Speaker 1>a seventeen analysis of lightning deaths over the past decade

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<v Speaker 1>by John S. Jen Sennius Jr. He's a lightning safety

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<v Speaker 1>specialist with National Weather Service. Gen Sennius found that of

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<v Speaker 1>the three hundred and fifty two deaths over the past decade,

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<v Speaker 1>thirty three people died while fishing, while twenty were on

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<v Speaker 1>the beach, eighteen were camping, in sixteen were boating. When

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<v Speaker 1>it came to sports, soccer players accounted for twelve deaths,

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<v Speaker 1>while golfers accounted for nine, a piece of information that

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<v Speaker 1>shows a golf course isn't necessarily the most dangerous place

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<v Speaker 1>during a storm. Farming and ranching, in contrast, accounted for

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<v Speaker 1>just evan teen of the recent lightning depths. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>was written by Patrick J. Tiger and produced by Tristan

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<v Speaker 1>McNeil and Tyler Clang. For more on listen lots of

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<v Speaker 1>other curious topics, visit how stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>is production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts my

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