Odisha school kids to be taught about lightning and thunderstorms as 460 fall prey to it in state

Odisha government will soon include lightning as a topic in school syllabus to create awareness among students about the reasons behind this weather phenomenon and ways to remain safe in such a situation.

Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) and Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) Managing Director Bishnupada Sethi said the suggestion to include lightning as a topic in school syllabus, which was given during the recently-concluded 'International Conference on Thunderstorm and Lightning in Tropics' here, has been accepted by the School and Mass Education Minister Badri Narayan Patra.

The Minister has assured that his department will take necessary steps in this regard, he said. "As climate change has turned Odisha into a hot spot of natural disasters, there is a need to create awareness among students by including topics concerning extreme weather events, the reasons behind such phenomena and ways to mitigate the same in school syllabus," said Sethi who is also serving as Higher Education Secretary.

The SRC said as hundreds of people are being killed due to lightning in the State every year, the students need to be taught about the do's and don'ts when a thunderstorm strikes. The myth surrounding lightning also needs to be busted. "The move will definitely help save a large number of precious lives," he said.

Notably, lightning claims more lives in Odisha then any other calamity. The death toll due to lightning has increased significantly in recent years. Around 460 people died due to lightning in the last fiscal, a 15 per cent increase as compared to 2016-17.

Recently, the SRC had also announced that a mobile application to send alert to people will be developed by the State Government by March this year.