Colombia is located close to the equator and as such experiences tropical weather through out the year. It is described as being isothermal which means that its temperate remains more or less the same through out the year. Such conditions give rise to heavy rainfalls and thunderstorms which can be catastrophic. Colombia has different climate zones which are characterised for having savannas, tropical rain forests, steppes, deserts and mountain climate.
Scientists have studied the lightning activity in Colombia for decades. Colombia is prone to lightning because of its geographical conditions and the fact that it is located in an inter-tropical convergence zone as well as three mountain chains. These areas record up to 35 strokes per square kilometer per year
Due to the high rate of lightning strikes in Colombia, a lot of research has gone into its detection as well as prevention and protection. Surge protection devices are becoming increasingly popular. How these devices work is that they divert the excess voltage and current voltage into wiring in the ground so that this excess energy is lost and the normal current in the electric components continues to flow naturally. A lot of Colombian electric companies hav
e embarked on the study of grounding systems to prevent lightnings.
There have been a lot of recorded deaths and severe injuries due to lightning in Colombia. It is estimated that 757 deaths were recorded as evidence through the death certificates from January 2000 until December 2009. That is an average of about 84 deaths per year due to direct strikes or injuries as a result of the lightning strike. From these statistics, the average age to be affected was 25 to 29. 80.3 percent of this figure were males and 19.7 were females. A total number of about 90 children were killed as a result of direct lightning strikes or lightning related injuries. From these 90 children 66 percent were found to be males and 34 were females. These figures among children are very high and shows that there is need for more awareness among children so that when they are playing they will be able to notice when it is necessary to take cover as well as procedures to take when someone has been struck by lightning.
Research shows that mostly males are affected by lightning more than females. There has not been a concrete answer as to why it is like this but scientists seem to think that it is linked to the fact that most men are high risk takers as compared to women. Some seem to think it is because of the outdoor labour work men do.