Richard Collins: Thor’s Hammer packs a mighty punch

Electrical storms may be uncommon in Ireland but their number and severity will increase as temperatures rise with global warming

A lightning storm over Waterford last year. Picture: Noel Browne

Many people fear thunderstorms, although lightning-strike fatalities are extremely rare. There are about four deaths annually in Britain and about 100 in the United States. African countries have higher casualty rates, with 240 victims each year in South Africa alone. Mortality, worldwide, is around 24,000. Electrical storms are most frequent in warm climates. They may be uncommon in Ireland now, but their number and severity will increase as temperatures rise with global warming.

Dogs and cats also experience astraphobia, the fear of loud noises, but only farm animals are at serious risk from lightning. Trees, the tallest objects in the countryside, attract strikes. Livestock, sheltering under them,
become victims. Last May, The Farmer’s Journal reported that three store cattle were killed in Co Westmeath and that seven calves died in Co Carlow on the same day. In 1918, two lightning bolts killed 654 sheep at Mill Canyon Peak in Utah.