Outside Rock View School there is an orange sign with the text: “When thunder roars go indoors”. It is set up by the organization that has installed lightning conductors on the school’s roof. In Uganda, several cases of schoolchildren being struck by lightning have been reported.
– It thunders almost every day, especially when it rains in the afternoon, says principal Bernadette Olokojo.
The school is located a few miles from Lake Victoria, which has the highest lightning density in the world.
Warm air creates conditions for thunderstorms
The fact that there is so much thunder in the area is partly due to the warm climate and the proximity to Lake Victoria, says meteorologist Maria Augutis.
– The warmer the air is, the more water vapor it can hold and that provides better conditions for thunder, she says.
Global warming produces higher temperatures, which will lead to an increased risk of thunderstorms in many parts of the world. Some aspects of climate change can also have the opposite effect, says Maria Augutis.
– Ice is needed in the clouds for thunderstorms to form, but as it gets warmer, the amount of ice in the clouds decreases, which in turn reduces the risk of thunderstorms, she says.
Increased risk of thunder in Sweden
Sweden has a thunderstorm season from May to September. Research shows that that period may be extended due to climate change.
– In Sweden, the thunderstorm season during the summer is getting longer and longer, which in turn increases the risk of thunder. That the thunderstorm season is getting longer is a consequence of the summers getting both hotter and longer, says Erik Kjellström, professor of climatology at SMHI.
See the school that calls in when there is thunder in the clip above.
Episode 3 of the series Hart veder is about thunder. It will be broadcast on SVT1 on Tuesday 15/11 at 20:00. But you can already watch the first episode dealing with extreme cold on SVT Play.