Can I use my phone during a thunderstorm and what not to do

During the summer and fall period of thunderstorms, there is a lot of panic about where to hide during lightning strikes and whether it is safe to use the phone. Scientists claim that there is no direct connection between cell phones and dangerous discharges.

However, there have been many cases around the world when a person who was carrying a phone during a thunderstorm was struck by lightning. But was the gadget the cause of the strike? OBOZ.UA asked an employee of the State Emergency Service about this, and we also took into account the advice of the famous doctor Yevhen Komarovsky and foreign experts.

Rumors about cell phones attracting lightning appear on the Internet from time to time. Despite the fact that scientists have repeatedly refuted them, many people still believe in these hypotheses. After all, there are certain circumstances when a phone can still cause an accident.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine still warns against talking on a cell phone during bad weather and generally advises on what guidelines should be followed during a thunderstorm.

Tips from the SES

Vitaliy Shylo, head of the guard of the 7th State Fire and Rescue Unit of the 3rd State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Volyn Oblast, warns that it is dangerous to be outdoors during lightning. "During a thunderstorm, it is better to stay indoors and unplug all electrical devices. Including cell phones from being charged. Also, close the windows and do not create drafts," the expert emphasized.

However, if you are outside in the bad weather, the State Emergency Service does not recommend hiding under a tree or using an umbrella. "You should also take off all metal items. If lightning catches you in a field, do not stand in full growth, but hide in a ditch or some kind of depression. If you are in the mountains, stay away from the peaks and do not touch wet rocks. And do not go near water bodies, because water attracts discharges," said Vitaliy Shylo.

As for phones, the SES advises not to use phones in the open during a thunderstorm. It is best to put your phone away and wait out the storm.

Recommendations of mobile phone manufacturers

Smartphone manufacturers do not recommend using your phone during a thunderstorm. The reason is that the atmosphere conducts radio waves much worse during a thunderstorm, and therefore the connection is impaired. In addition, there is interference or extraneous noise.

However, this is only a recommendation that you can disregard. After all, it concerns only the quality of communication and does not warn of the danger associated with a possible lightning strike.

However, there is still one risk. As already mentioned, the signal often disappears in a thunderstorm, and users in areas with low coverage often raise the device up to "catch the signal" in case of signal degradation. And this is a bad idea, especially if you are somewhere in an open area. This way, you can "catch" lightning that hits the highest areas, including your raised arm.

Tips from scientists

Scientists see no reason to turn off your phone during a lightning storm. After all, there is no evidence that turning off your phone during a thunderstorm reduces the risk of lightning. However, physicists emphasize that the electrical energy of lightning can cause a short circuit. This can cause your smartphone battery to catch fire. So be sure to disconnect your phone from the charger during a lightning storm.

On his YouTube channel, the famous doctor Yevgeny Komarovsky debunks myths about the topic "Phone and lightning". According to the scientist, "in no serious medical source or physics textbook, from any physicist or medical scientist" is it possible to hear that lightning is attracted to a mobile phone.

Dr. Komarovsky is sure that there is only one risk of using a mobile phone in a thunderstorm: due to communication problems, a person can raise his or her hand with a gadget, and accordingly, "there is theoretically more chance that lightning will hit this hand."

"As for physics: landlines with a bunch of wires are connected to poles, and if lightning strikes a pole, you may get a little bit of lightning in your ear, not much, but it can happen," the doctor said.

Lightning and its effect

To believe or not to believe in the theory of the threatening tandem of the phone and lightning, it is worth understanding how discharges work. According to physicists, during a thunderstorm, an electrostatic field arises between the ground and a storm cloud, which causes polarization of objects located on or near the ground. Air is a dielectric, but during rain or simply wet weather, its current conductivity increases. When any object on the ground accumulates a charge that exceeds the air's intensity, a discharge is formed and lightning strikes the object.

Scientists emphasize that a smartphone alone cannot create such a static field and have such a polarization that the strike would fall on it. At the moment of a call, the strength of the electrostatic field increases, but not enough to attract lightning. Moreover, most phones have a plastic case, which is itself a dielectric.

Some physicists suggest that a smartphone can still initiate a lightning strike if a person is near a metal object that will become the center of the electrostatic field. However, this is just a hypothesis, not supported by facts.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration emphasizes that in any case, it is better to find a safe shelter during a thunderstorm, because it is impossible to predict where and how the discharge will hit. "Since lightning is one of the most capricious and unpredictable characteristics of a thunderstorm, no one can guarantee absolute protection of an individual or group from it. However, knowing and following proven lightning protection guidelines can significantly reduce the risk of injury or death," the agency emphasizes.

So it's best to refrain from taking selfies against a lightning bolt. And not because you're holding a phone. It is simply dangerous to be outside in a thunderstorm because it is impossible to predict where lightning will strike.

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