Several boys were injured in connection with a lightning strike on Lidingö outside Stockholm on Thursday.
The boys were outdoors and reportedly took shelter from the rain under a tree, which may be the explanation for why they were hit, according to Cooray, professor of electrical engineering at Uppsala University, who has researched lightning and thunderstorms for 40 years.
The first advice is always to go inside when it's thundering. If you hear thunder, it can lightning about ten kilometers away.
You can also seek shelter in a car if there is one nearby. It assumes that the car is made of metal, or mostly metal. Then it works as a good shelter.
"Absolutely not to do"
Being hit by lightning is rare in Sweden. Each year, between five and six people are hit by lightning in some way. According to Cooray, you can also be near a lightning strike and be hit by the part of the lightning that, for example, goes through a tree.
When it's thundering, it usually rains nearby. Many therefore seek shelter under trees. That's absolutely not what you should do. If you're out on a field with trees, the lightning will seek out the highest point on the field.
Crouch down
Instead, you should try to lower your body without lying flat on the ground.
You should bend down so as not to attract the lightning. You should also keep your legs together. The smaller the space between your legs, the less the current will flow through your body if the lightning strikes.
If you're lying down on a field and the lightning strikes nearby, there's a risk that the current will flow through the ground and your entire body, including your head.
According to Cooray, it's a myth that you shouldn't talk on the phone when it's thundering.
But what you should think about is to take out your earbuds from your ears. If the lightning strikes, the currents can go directly to the brain via the earbuds. If you're indoors, you can also unplug cables to protect the electronics themselves, he says.
