Since April 19, heavy rainstorms have occurred in many places in Guangdong. On the afternoon of the 20th, thunderstorm clouds swept across Guangdong, and Guangzhou was covered with black clouds and thunder and lightning. According to the video footage released by the "Guangdong Weather" WeChat official account, from 19 to 20 o'clock that night, Guangzhou's landmark Canton Tower (Guangzhou New TV Tower, nicknamed Xiaomanyao) was frequently struck by lightning (the scientific term is called "catching lightning"). The lightning channel imaging system accurately captured 6 lightning optical images. On the 21st, "Canton Tower received lightning strikes 6 times in one hour" became a hot search topic on many platforms, triggering widespread attention and discussion: "Why do small waists always get struck by lightning?" "Can't small waists really get struck by lightning?" ?”
Public reports show that as the ultra-tall building in Guangzhou, Canton Tower has met with “Lightning” many times, and related pictures and videos can be seen everywhere on the Internet. In addition, super-tall buildings such as the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower (Radio and Television Tower), Taipei 101, and the World Trade Center in New York, USA, have also been photographed many times in shocking scenes of being "struck by lightning." Why does lightning favor these super-tall buildings? How do these ultra-tall buildings become “unbreakable”? Are high-rise buildings 100% safe if lightning protection measures are installed? How do ordinary people protect themselves against lightning? Upstream news was sorted out based on public reports.
Lightning only prefers Guangzhou's " Xiaoman waist"?
Many skyscrapers around the world have been repeatedly hit by lightning Electricity
Public reports show that many city landmarks and skyscrapers (tall buildings) around the world have been photographed being struck by lightning, which has attracted widespread attention.
From the evening to night of March 29 this year, Guangzhou encountered strong convective weather. Some citizens witnessed the Canton Tower, the landmark of Guangzhou, being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. Previously, a few days before and after June 11, 2020, Guangzhou was shrouded in thunderstorms, and some netizens also posted pictures of the Canton Tower being "struck by lightning."
The Canton Tower lightning channel imaging system accurately captured 6 lightning optical images. Image source/Guangdong Weather
On August 10, 2020, Shanghai ushered in strong convective weather, and the meteorological department issued the second orange thunder and lightning warning of the year. On Weibo and WeChat Moments, various pictures of lightning appearing in the sky over Shanghai went viral. Some netizens said they saw lightning appearing near the Oriental Pearl Tower (Radio and Television Tower) and the Shanghai Tower. The relevant operation and management department of the Oriental Pearl Tower told the media that the Oriental Pearl Tower did experience a "lightning strike" that night, that is, it directly intercepted a lightning strike. The lightning has quickly discharged to the earth through down conductors and grounding devices. After investigation, the overall structure of the building is safe, so citizens can rest assured.
On the evening of April 19, 2023, the famous landmark 101 Building in Taipei, Taiwan, was struck by lightning. Some netizens captured a rare moment - the sky originally had only weak lights, but when lightning struck the Taipei 101 Building, purple light instantly illuminated the entire city. , which amazed many netizens. According to reports, Taipei 101 is equipped with lightning protection facilities, and lightning strikes will have no impact on the building itself.
On March 31, 2023, extreme weather such as strong tornadoes and thunderstorms hit many states in the United States. On the evening of April 1, New York, USA, was hit by a thunderstorm. Video recorded the moment when a bolt of lightning struck One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the United States. Reports say that the moment lightning struck the building, it lit up the sky above New York City. According to reports, this 541-meter-tall building was struck by lightning 189 times between 2015 and 2020.
Why does lightning particularly favor super-tall buildings?
It turned out to be "actively triggering lightning"
According to CCTV News, in response to the previous scene of Canton Tower being "struck by lightning", Canton Tower has stated that the statement of "being struck by lightning" is inaccurate. The professional term is "Lightning catcher" means that the Canton Tower actively attracts lightning, that is, it uses lightning rods and the metal of the building itself to attract lightning to prevent the building from being struck by lightning and causing accidents. As a super-high landmark building, Canton Tower has a series of sound lightning protection systems that can "catcher lightning" and is very safe.
The Shanghai Pearl Tower was once struck by lightning, "I am still here".Image source/Oriental Pearl Weibo
In 2020, "Shanghai Weather" once introduced in a reply to netizens, "There is a reason why the Oriental Pearl attracts more thunder than several super high-rise buildings next to it. Its top is pointed and needle-shaped, and it is more eye-catching than the same The Jinmao (Building) is tall with a pointed roof, so lightning prefers it. "
" The lightning rod is actually a 'lightning rod'," Shen Yuxiang, chairman of the Architectural Electrical Branch of the China Architectural Society, joked, "It can be understood that lightning will. Actively 'find' higher buildings on the ground to release energy, so the lightning rods of high-rise buildings are used to actively attract lightning, hoping that lightning will hit them to protect the safety of the buildings below. "High-rise buildings "actively catch lightning." It also objectively protects the safety of surrounding buildings and pedestrians. Experts at
said that when charged clouds appear over high-rise buildings, the lightning rod is induced to charge and forms a capacitor with a small capacitance with the charged clouds. However, the needle of the lightning rod is very sharp and can accumulate a large amount of charge, causing the air between the lightning rod and the cloud layer to be easily broken down and become a conductor. Immediately, the charge on the cloud layer flows through the lightning device and down conductor, through the foundation of the building, and is scattered to the surrounding ground, posing no threat to the building.
According to reports, early buildings did not have a comprehensive lightning protection system. Once a certain part was struck by lightning, it would easily cause damage to the structure, partial collapse, or cause a fire. "This is because lightning strikes will produce transient surge effects, thermal effects, and mechanical effects, causing transient overvoltage to damage electrical equipment and generate high heat and mechanical force." said Xia Lin, deputy chief engineer of the Architectural Design and Research Institute of Tongji University.
Why are ultra-tall buildings so “unbeatable”?
uses a variety of methods to protect the building from all-round lightning
Public reports said that in order to prevent lightning from causing damage to the building, Canton Tower has adopted a variety of methods to ensure the safety of the building in an all-round way.
According to reports, the lightning protection device installed at the top of the Guangzhou Tower is actually a "lightning rod." Unlike lightning rods installed on general buildings, lightning rods are mainly installed on the tops of buildings that are taller than other buildings in an area. When there is thunder and lightning, the lightning rod will play the role of "catching lightning" and actively attract lightning to hit the lightning rod. In the process of "lightening", lightning rods play a key role. They are connected to the ground through a grounding device to form a conductive channel, which introduces lightning current into the ground, thus protecting the building itself and the equipment and personnel inside from lightning damage. .
Canton Tower has met "Lightning" many times.
As early as the architectural design stage, Canton Tower had entrusted relevant units to assess the risk of lightning strikes and established a lightning protection system. The lightning that hits the lightning rod of Canton Tower will eventually be guided to the ground. This method can also effectively reduce the probability of buildings around the Canton Tower being struck by lightning.
Since there is an outdoor play space at the top of the Canton Tower, the Canton Tower has also built a lightning warning system equipment to monitor the atmospheric electric field generated by thunderstorm clouds near the Canton Tower, as well as the occurrence of cloud-to-cloud lightning and cloud-to-ground lightning. Combined with the atmospheric The electric field early warning indicator provides early warning for the outdoor play space on the top of the Canton Tower. When it is detected that thunder and lightning may occur, the management of Canton Tower will temporarily close the outdoor play space and organize tourists to enter the indoor sightseeing hall to continue sightseeing to ensure the safety of tourists.
is 100% safe if a lightning rod is installed?
It can protect in most cases, but there are occasional accidents
In the early morning of June 1, 2023, thunder and lightning occurred in the Tuen Mun and Tin Village areas of Hong Kong, and one of the buildings was struck by lightning. From the videos and pictures uploaded by netizens, it can be seen that lightning "turned" and hit a high-rise building. The lightning flashed three times in a row, bursting into flames and accompanied by huge thunder. Fortunately, only a corner of the window sill of the single building was damaged by lightning, and there was no further damage and no one was injured.
A tall building in Hong Kong was struck by lightning. Picture source/Kankan news video screenshot
Acting Senior Scientific Director of the Observatory, Lin Xuexian, said that generally speaking, objects at high places or with high conductivity are more likely to be struck by lightning, but the actual location of each lightning strike will be affected by many factors, including Certain randomness.Judging from the videos circulated online, it was not possible to determine the reason why the unit was hit because the situation inside the house was not known.
Some people questioned why the building where the incident occurred had a lightning rod and was still struck by lightning. Leung Wing-wu, spokesman for the Hong Kong Meteorological Society and former assistant director of the Hong Kong Observatory, explained that lightning rods can protect buildings in most cases, but technology cannot provide 100% protection; and lightning does not travel in a straight line, but in irregular "waves" glyph", so lightning may not hit the lightning rod every time. Although the chances of lightning striking a building are low, it can still happen.
Liang Rongwu said that today's high-rise buildings are very safe in design. Even if lightning hits the wall of the building, it will not cause harm to the residents in the house. Therefore, it is very safe for citizens to stay at home during thunderstorms, but it is best to stay away from windows. . Ho Wing-yip, spokesperson of the Electrical and Mechanical Division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, said that the lightning protection system is not 100% guaranteed. The system only maximizes the probability of attracting lightning. The failure to attract this time does not mean that the protection system has failed. He reminded citizens to stay inside buildings and away from metal window frames during thunderstorms to avoid accidents.
How do ordinary people protect themselves from lightning?
Don’t go near windows at home, and try to hide in buildings when going out.
In our country, except for some low-rise buildings, most buildings need to carry out lightning protection design in accordance with national design standards, especially high-rise buildings. Shen Yuxiang, chairman of the Architectural Electrical Branch of the Architectural Society of China, said that Shanghai's building lightning protection measures are in place and citizens should rest assured. But just in case, lightning protection work during thunderstorm season should not be taken lightly. Although the lightning that hits the window will be immediately introduced to the earth through the grounding device, Shen Yuxiang still recommends not to get close to the window during thunderstorms, let alone touch the window frame with your hands. When sitting at home, try not to use a computer that is plugged into a power source, and it is best not to make phone calls.
Xia Lin reminded citizens that if a thunderstorm occurs when they go out, they should take shelter in buildings in time. Especially if there are students who are still active on the playground despite thunderstorms, the school should promptly notify the students to return to the building.
If you encounter a thunderstorm outdoors, look for buildings with complete lightning protection measures, such as large shopping malls, hospitals, residential areas, etc. If you are in a mountainous area, stay away from high places such as mountain tops and ridges. During a thunderstorm, do not touch or approach the ground wire of the lightning protection device, and do not approach high-voltage transformer rooms, high-voltage wires, etc.
In vast rural areas, since there are no lightning protection facilities outdoors, it is more likely to be struck by lightning. Therefore, during thunderstorms during spring and summer when thunder and lightning are active, activities in open areas should be avoided as much as possible. If you can't get away for a while, try not to get close to tall trees, telephone poles, metal railings, etc., and keep a distance of at least 4-5 meters.
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