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00:00Globally, there are approximately 1.4 billion lightning strikes each year, averaging about
00:0644 per second.
00:08One bolt is around 53,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and five times hotter than the surface of
00:14the sun.
00:15The chances of lightning striking you are around 1 in 1.2 million for any given year.
00:22But do you think you could survive if it did happen?
00:27Famously, the chances are low that you ever actually will get struck by lightning at all.
00:35Estimates vary, but we're talking between 1 in 300,000 and 1 in 1 million or more that
00:42it would happen to you during any one year.
00:47This blink-and-you'll-miss-it phenomenon is so rare, in fact, that it's almost universally
00:53used as the measuring stick that almost every other rare thing possible is held up against.
01:00Will I win the lottery this week?
01:02I'm more likely to get struck by lightning, or so the saying goes.
01:07Nevertheless, we still aren't dealing with impossibilities here.
01:11Many people, thousands of people even, have been struck by lightning before.
01:17And perhaps surprisingly, most do survive.
01:22The majority of statistics calculate that while 1 in 10 events do kill those that are
01:28hit, 9 in 10 are left alive, although with effects and injuries of varying severity.
01:35In all cases, what the body goes through is extremely tough.
01:41Often it's a life-changing experience, triggering disabilities and conditions that remain forever.
01:48Broadly, the impact can be split into two.
01:52The physical and the mental.
01:55And physically speaking, there are two main areas of concern.
02:00The burns and the current.
02:02The burns are pretty self-explanatory, but they can be pretty horrific all the same.
02:08On average, there are around 1 billion joules of energy in any one bolt of lightning.
02:16Estimates reckon at around 30 million volts.
02:19Given the instant in which it hits, it can carry temperatures that are hotter than those
02:24on the surface of the sun.
02:27Clearly, the human body is not built to withstand even close to that.
02:32And so, in some cases, although rare, a lightning strike could literally set you on fire.
02:41Those instances are usually more dependent on the surrounding conditions, however.
02:45With, say, conductive materials combined to encase you within a hellish ball of spreading flame.
02:53Here, in the best-case scenario, if you remain conscious enough, you'd find somewhere to
02:59escape to as quickly as you can.
03:01In the worst case, it's a death not unlike being tossed into a volcano.
03:08As more people survive lightning strikes than succumb to them, however, it's not as though
03:12all events are quite so extreme.
03:16In fact, no one event is the same as another, as so many depends on the specific circumstances,
03:24including, again, the surrounding environment, but also what the person is wearing, how exactly
03:31the electricity passes through them, and what happens immediately afterwards.
03:37More often than not, it isn't straight-up fire and explosions.
03:42There just isn't enough time for that, with the electricity passing through in milliseconds.
03:48In some cases, it can even be difficult to recognize that a person has been struck by
03:53lightning at all.
03:55But in all cases, identifying what happened is key, in the short and long term.
04:03In general, if you want to live and recover, you need to find help fast.
04:09But that's incredibly difficult to do if, say, your own skin is literally blistering
04:15away, or if you're out cold and actually completely unaware of what's just happened
04:20to you, or if the experience has understandably left you dazed and unsure.
04:26Indeed, when the worst does happen, and a victim does die, it's sometimes in part because
04:33they're struck by lightning in an isolated location, perhaps across a wide-open rural
04:39and sparsely populated landscape.
04:42Under those conditions, they often just can't get to where they need to be.
04:48Upon finding help, or upon being found, however, you better hope that whoever it is you've
04:54crossed paths with knows their stuff.
04:57First off, and even without immediately obvious burns, there could be telltale signs all over
05:03your body.
05:05Specified lightning burns can set in within a few minutes or, more commonly, a few hours.
05:12These are a spreading, almost network of thin red lines branching across the skin.
05:19What they actually reveal are the burst capillaries underneath the skin, ruptured by the lightning
05:25itself.
05:26More than anything else, they're an iconic, immediately identifiable symptom of being
05:32struck by lightning.
05:34Crucially, all official guidelines recommend that it is safe to approach and touch someone
05:40who has just suffered a lightning strike, even a direct hit.
05:44The human body does not store electrical charge, so the power of the bolt will have passed
05:50through.
05:51If the person is found to be without a pulse, then CPR should be started immediately, according
05:57to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
06:01And here we move on to the other key factor as to how a lightning strike plays out, how
06:06the current within passes through your body.
06:10All of your major organs are at risk in some way or another, but the most important, in
06:16terms of living or dying, is the heart.
06:20Those who get struck by lightning often suffer cardiac arrest as a result.
06:25Such unexpected power dealt by nature simply isn't something that our hearts are anticipating
06:31or are built to withstand.
06:33And even if you don't suffer cardiac arrest straight away, it is vital that you're tested
06:40as soon as possible.
06:41Your heart may not have stopped completely, but it's possible, even likely, that your
06:47body will display tremors, murmurs, and fluctuations, all of which could cause more major issues
06:54at any moment.
06:56Understandably, there is significant internal trauma elsewhere too, which can manifest in
07:01various ways.
07:03The shockwave of a lightning strike is enough to take out your hearing, usually temporarily,
07:09sometimes permanently.
07:11The same wave of energy can affect your bones, joints, and muscles, even long after the strike
07:17occurs.
07:18Involuntary twitching isn't only a stereotype as seen in movies.
07:23There is a chance that your body really will react that way, as it tries to make sense
07:28of what's happened to it.
07:30There's pressure on your lungs, on your rib cage, your digestive system, your nervous
07:35system.
07:36Blurred vision is another potential knock-on effect, again, typically for a short while
07:41afterwards, but sometimes for longer, or forever.
07:46Essentially, nothing within your body goes untouched or unscathed.
07:51The psychological strain is more difficult to pinpoint, despite hundreds of cases now
07:56contributing to what we know.
07:58Generally, mood disorders are common in those who have been struck by lightning in the past.
08:04Some vague confusion is expected, especially at the time or soon afterwards, while mental
08:11and physical fatigue is also often reported.
08:15Some version of memory loss is usually cited as well, with many people even left completely
08:21unable to recall the moment of the strike or the time leading up to it.
08:26Unsurprisingly, there are some cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, while fears, phobias, and
08:33anxieties are often heightened way beyond anything experienced before the lightning
08:38hit.
08:39How do you think you would react if you were ever struck by lightning?
08:43How would it make you feel about future storms, about being outside, or about electrical products
08:48or environments in general?
08:50Let us know in the comments.
08:52For now, getting struck by lightning is still an exceptionally rare event, and even if it
08:58does happen to you, you are much more likely to live than die.
09:05The data isn't evenly spread.
09:07Lightning injuries are more common in some countries than others, mostly due to the differing
09:12weather patterns to begin with.
09:14But to end on some good news, these kinds of events are decreasing across the board.
09:21The global population today has a better understanding of how to stay safe in a lightning storm,
09:26structures are built to better withstand the dangers, and when there is a hit, we're
09:32better prepared to react and hopefully save those affected.
09:37That's what happens when you get struck by lightning.
09:42What do you think?
09:43Is there anything we missed?
09:45Let us know in the comments.
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