Lightning is one of the most powerful natural phenomena associated with thunderstorms. A single lightning discharge can carry enormous electrical energy and cause death, serious burns, fires and damage to buildings and electrical equipment.
For many Nigerians, lightning is something seen during the rainy season but not always treated as a serious environmental hazard. People may continue standing outside, shelter beneath trees, remain in open fields or use electrical equipment while a thunderstorm is overhead.
That attitude can be dangerous.
Lightning does not have to strike a person directly to cause injury. A nearby strike can also send electrical current through the ground or surrounding objects.
Nigeria’s exposure to thunderstorms makes lightning safety an important part of disaster preparedness. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) maintains a national disaster surveillance system covering hydro-climatological and other hazards, reflecting the importance of monitoring environmental risks across the country.
What Is Lightning?
Lightning is a powerful electrical discharge that occurs within thunderstorms or between a thundercloud and the ground.
Inside a thundercloud, electrical charges become separated. When the difference in electrical potential becomes sufficiently large, a discharge occurs.
The flash that we see is lightning, while the sound that follows is thunder.
The delay between seeing lightning and hearing thunder can also tell us something important: if thunder can be heard, the storm is close enough for lightning to pose a potential danger.
This is why the familiar advice to seek shelter when thunder is heard should be taken seriously.
Why Is Lightning Dangerous?
Lightning can cause several types of injury.
A person may be struck directly, but injuries can also occur through side flashes, ground current or contact with an object that has been energized by the strike.
Possible consequences include:
- Cardiac arrest.
- Loss of consciousness.
- Burns.
- Neurological injuries.
- Hearing damage.
- Eye injuries.
- Falls and other trauma.
- Death.
Lightning can also start fires.
A strike on a building, tree or electrical installation can ignite combustible materials or damage electrical infrastructure.
Therefore, lightning is not simply a personal safety issue. It can become a wider environmental emergency.
Lightning in Kwara State
Lightning strikes have caused deaths in Kwara State.
In August 2023, two people were reportedly killed by lightning during a heavy downpour at Onigbegiri Junction in Eyenkorin, Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State. According to reports, a tea seller and one of his customers were struck during the storm.
Eyenkorin is particularly relevant to this article because it is within the wider Ilorin metropolitan area and demonstrates that lightning risk is not merely something associated with distant rural communities.
Another reported case occurred in 2017, when a staff member of the Kwara State College of Education, Oro, was struck and killed by lightning during a downpour.
These incidents demonstrate why people should not treat thunderstorms as harmless weather events.
The Danger of Standing Under Trees
One of the most common mistakes during thunderstorms is seeking shelter under a tree.
A tree may appear to provide excellent protection from rain, but it can become extremely dangerous when lightning is present.
Lightning can strike a tree and then transfer energy to a person standing close to it.
A tree can also be damaged or split by a lightning strike, creating additional physical danger.
Therefore, when a thunderstorm approaches, people should move into a substantial enclosed building or an enclosed vehicle rather than sheltering beneath isolated trees.
This is particularly important for farmers, traders, roadside workers, pedestrians and people working in open spaces.
Open Fields Are Dangerous
People working on farms or walking across open land may have limited shelter when thunderstorms develop.
An open field is not a safe place to remain during an active thunderstorm.
A person standing in an exposed area can become one of the tallest objects around, although lightning does not simply “choose the tallest person.”
The safest approach is to leave an exposed area and seek proper shelter as soon as possible.
Farmers should pay attention to weather conditions before beginning outdoor work, particularly during periods when thunderstorms are expected.
What About Ilorin’s Public Spaces?
Lightning safety is also relevant to public spaces in Ilorin.
Imagine a busy roadside area during a sudden afternoon thunderstorm.
People may rush underneath trees, beside metal structures or into crowded kiosks simply to escape the rain.
The immediate instinct is understandable: nobody wants to remain exposed to heavy rain.
However, escaping rain and escaping lightning are not always the same thing.
A properly enclosed building provides substantially better protection than an isolated tree or open-sided shelter.
Markets, schools, motor parks, sports fields and other public facilities should therefore consider thunderstorm safety as part of their emergency planning.
Electrical Appliances During Thunderstorms
Lightning can also affect electrical systems.
A nearby strike can cause electrical surges capable of damaging appliances and other equipment.
During a severe thunderstorm, people should avoid unnecessary contact with electrical equipment and plumbing.
Where practical and safe, sensitive electrical equipment can be disconnected before a storm arrives. However, people should never attempt to unplug equipment while lightning is actively striking nearby if doing so would expose them to additional danger.
Surge protection can also help protect electronic equipment, although it does not make a building completely immune to lightning.
Lightning and Buildings
Buildings can be damaged by lightning, particularly when they lack appropriate protection.
A lightning protection system can provide a controlled pathway for electrical energy to reach the ground, reducing the likelihood of uncontrolled electrical damage.
Lightning protection may include air terminals, conductors and grounding systems designed according to appropriate standards.
Large buildings, schools, hospitals, communication facilities and other important structures may require professional assessment to determine their lightning-protection needs.
This is another area where environmental health professionals need to work alongside engineers and other technical specialists.
Early Warning Can Save Lives
Lightning safety begins before the first strike.
Weather information can provide an opportunity for people to change their plans when thunderstorms are expected.
The National Emergency Management Agency has emphasized the importance of early warning and preparedness as part of disaster-risk reduction in Nigeria. In its emergency-preparedness work, NEMA highlights early-warning dissemination, awareness campaigns and disaster-risk-reduction measures as important components of preparedness.
This principle applies to lightning.
If people receive timely information that severe thunderstorms are expected, outdoor activities can be postponed and vulnerable people can seek shelter before conditions become dangerous.
What Should You Do During a Thunderstorm?
The safest response is simple: seek proper shelter early.
When thunder is heard:
- Move into a substantial enclosed building if one is nearby.
- Alternatively, enter a fully enclosed vehicle.
- Stay away from windows and doors during severe storms.
- Avoid isolated trees.
- Do not remain in open fields.
- Avoid unnecessary contact with electrical equipment and plumbing.
- Do not stand near metal fences, poles or other exposed conductive structures.
- Wait until the storm has passed before returning outside.
A useful rule is that if you can hear thunder, you should consider yourself within the potential danger zone of the storm.
What About People Caught Outside?
Sometimes a person may not have immediate access to a building.
The priority should be reaching safe shelter as quickly as possible.
Do not run toward an isolated tree simply because rain has become heavy.
Do not gather beneath a roadside structure if it leaves you exposed to the storm.
If no substantial shelter is immediately available, avoid isolated tall objects and move toward safer surroundings while minimizing exposure.
However, this should not be interpreted as a guarantee of safety.
The best protection remains getting inside a proper enclosed building or vehicle before the storm becomes severe.
What Should Schools and Public Facilities Do?
Schools and other public institutions should include thunderstorms in their emergency plans.
Students should be taught not to run beneath trees during storms.
Outdoor sporting activities should be suspended when thunderstorms approach.
Teachers and administrators should know where students can safely shelter.
Markets and public gathering areas should also have procedures for severe weather.
This is particularly important because people may otherwise make decisions based on instinct rather than safety information.
The Environmental Health Connection
Lightning demonstrates why environmental health is broader than sanitation alone.
Environmental health professionals consider how environmental conditions can affect human safety and wellbeing.
A thunderstorm is a natural event, but the consequences depend partly on human behaviour and the environment in which people live and work.
A person working alone in an open field faces a different level of exposure from someone inside a properly protected building.
Similarly, a school without an emergency procedure may be more vulnerable than one that has trained staff and clear shelter arrangements.
My Environmental Health Science training has helped me appreciate this preventive approach. The lesson from environmental health is not simply to respond when someone has already been injured. It is to identify the environmental hazard and reduce exposure before harm occurs.
Conclusion
Lightning may last only a fraction of a second, but its consequences can be permanent.
The deaths reported in Eyenkorin and other parts of Kwara State demonstrate that lightning is a real local hazard rather than something that happens only in other countries.
The most effective protection is awareness and early action.
When thunderstorms approach, people should seek proper shelter, avoid trees and open spaces, reduce unnecessary contact with electrical systems and follow credible weather and emergency warnings.
Communities, schools, workplaces and public facilities should also include lightning in their emergency-preparedness plans.
We cannot stop lightning from occurring.
But we can change how exposed we are to it.
The safest time to take lightning seriously is before the next strike—not after it.
References
- National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Disaster Surveillance Map.
- National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). (2024). Lessons Learned Exercise for Emergency Preparedness and Response in Nigeria.
- Vanguard. (2023). Lightning kills two persons in Ilorin.
- Punch Newspapers. (2017). Ilorin cemetery rejects corpse killed by lightning.
