Research conducted by this group, from the National Institute for Space Research, in São José dos Campos (São Paulo), also reveals that the South American giant tops the list of incidences of electric shocks.
According to the investigation, this country records about 78 million of these frightening showers annually, and the trend is increasing due to climate change.
Of this number of human losses recorded between 2013 and 2022, the northern states of Pará top the list with 88 and Amazonas (78).
For Eilat coordinator Osmar Pinto Jr., the number of deaths caused by lightning is mainly related to three factors. Firstly, due to the increase in the number of radio stations in the area and people, and the increase in information/awareness among the population.
According to the researcher, the last factor is decisive. Cases have an inverse relationship with GDP.
This means that countries with lower GDPs tend to have a higher number of lightning victims.
“The higher the GDP, the higher the level of information among the population, which becomes more aware and understanding of the dangers of electric shock,” Pinto Junior told G1.
He stressed that the number of deaths is lower in developed countries.
Eilat also indicates that the main victims are people living in open areas in rural areas (27 percent) and those who are indoors, in contact with objects connected to the electricity or telephone network (24).
By year, the number of deaths caused by lightning is as follows: 2013: 101; 2014: 99, 2015: 107; 2016: 72; 2017; 79; 2018: 72; 2019: 83; 2020: 75; 2021: 79 and 2022: 68.
The list shows that 2022, the last year of the uprising, saw the lowest number of Brazilian deaths affected by lightning. However, the data is alarming and considered high compared to other countries.
Eilat points out that for every 50 deaths in the world, one occurs in Brazil, the second country in Latin America with the highest rate of deaths caused by lightning, after only Mexico.
It still ranks seventh in terms of the largest number of cases in the world. The number of deaths on Brazilian soil is twice that of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and three times that of the United States, the two countries that are located immediately after Brazil on the global list.
At least 907 people died in 2022 alone due to lightning strikes in India, amid an increase in such incidents and changing weather patterns caused by the climate crisis.
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