SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — In the past month, two Sullivan County residents were struck by lightning. 

On June 27, Brooke Stroop was helping his in-laws pack up their recreational vehicle at his farm on Route 42 in Woodbourne. While he was touching the metal hitch of the RV, Stroop felt a sudden jolt and was thrown 10 feet into the air. 

Stroop is a 48-year-old firefighter and a prior captain. He has been volunteering on the force at the Woodbourne Fire Department for 19 years.

When emergency services responded to the scene, Stroop was having difficulty breathing and smoke was coming out of his body. 

In an interview with News 12, Stroop said, “No puns, I’m still in a bit of shock. It felt like I got hit by a freight train. My left side is incredibly numb…[I’m] starting to get feeling back in my left hand. [I’m] gonna be fine.” 

On July 4, a construction worker was on the job site in the Town of Mamakating. As the man was taking cover from a storm, the metal pole that he was touching was struck by lightning. 

The bolt sent the worker into cardiac arrest and left him in critical condition. Mamakating EMS responded to the scene and revived the victim en route to Garnet Orange Medical Center in Middletown where he remains at press time. 

Taking a look at the environment

According to the United Nations, climate change has existed since the 19th century and represents the long-term shifts in the Earth’s temperature and weather patterns. 

In a 2014 article, published in the American Association for the Advancement of Science textbook, Science, four scientists—David M. Romps and Jacob T. Steeley from the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California at Berkeley, and David Vollard and John Molinari from the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the State University of New York—hypothesized that the number of lightning strikes will increase by about 12 percent for every degree of increase in global average air temperature.

It was estimated that the number of lightning strikes within the United States “could increase by as much as 50 percent by the end of the century, with each additional one degree Celsius of warming generating about 12 percent more strikes” if global warming continues at its present rate. 

Romps wrote, “As the planet warms, there will be more of this fuel around, so when thunderstorms get triggered, they will be more energetic.”

Nathan Neal, marketing director at Bristol Industrial & Research Associates—which designs, manufactures and distributes high-quality meteorological sensors, noted that thunderstorms have not been at the forefront of global warming awareness. Often compared to hurricanes, thunderstorms are more common and damage is localized. As the Earth’s temperatures continue to rise and shift, so will the severity of thunderstorms. “As CO2 increases and the land surface warms, stronger updrafts are more likely to produce lightning,” Neal said. “In a climate with double the amount of CO2, we may see fewer lightning storms overall, but 25 percent stronger storms, with a five percent increase in lightning.”

Damages from an increase in lightning range from striking dry vegetation, resulting in a forest fire, to hitting community members. In Bihar, a state in northern India, a record 147 people died in 2021 due to lightning strikes within a 10-day period. 

What can we do?

In 2020, the United Nations, through its ActNow campaign to address global climate change, provided a list of 10 helpful steps to take to achieve a healthier planet. 

Decreasing the amount of energy used in homes can improve the home’s efficiency and reduces water and air pollution. This task entails using heating or cooling systems less, replacing certain light bulbs or appliances with ones that are energy efficient, or hanging clothing to dry rather than running a load through a machine. 

Additionally, switching modes of transportation benefits the environment. By taking public transportation when available, riding a bicycle, carpooling with colleagues or walking, reducing one’s carbon footprint lessenx the ozone layer’s stress. 

Reusing used materials will decrease the amount of production occurring, which will decrease carbon emissions being released into the atmosphere. A study conducted by the United Nations revealed that “plastics alone generated 1.8 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019—3.4 [percent] of the global total.” Keeping the environment clean will also reduce the risk of foreign objects contaminating water systems or wildlife habitats. 

Carol Roig, writer of the River Reporter’s Mixed Greens column, has worked on multiple energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Roig assisted with the development and implementation of Sullivan County’s Climate Action Plan in her role in Sullivan County’s Office of Sustainability. 

When looking at the future of the environment and recent thunderstorms, Roig said, “Summer 2023 is still young, but we’ve already seen the hottest June on record, and catastrophic floods and wildfires affecting our region and all over the world… we have to put the issue front and center, because it affects our health and safety, our property, our economic security, the stability of our communities—every aspect of our lives. 

“I hate to sound dire, but when we think about how awful those few days of acrid wildfire smoke felt last month, or how terrifying the experience of a flash flood, we should remember that in some parts of the world conditions like that are becoming the norm. And we still have time and the intelligence to do something about it.”