The physicist spoke about the threats during a thunderstorm

During a thunderstorm, lightning can strike a metal umbrella or a person who is talking on the phone. This was announced by Roman Shamin, Doctor of Physico-Mathematical Sciences, professor at the Moscow Government University, on Thursday, July 17.

He noted that when a person is in a thunderstorm zone, it is necessary that he does not have metal objects that attract lightning, such as umbrellas and fishing rods, if they are made of conductive materials.

"In a sense, there are fewer risks with phones, because it's small, but since it's still such a concentrated metal structure, and if another person holds it near their head during a thunderstorm, it will increase the risk of lightning strikes. That is, if the phone is in your pocket, then nothing like this will happen," the scientist said in an interview with aif.ru .

He added that even a headdress with decorative metal elements or a metal hairpin can attract a zipper.

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The day before, it was reported that in the Kemerovo region, lightning struck three fishermen who were on the riverbank, according to the website. kp.ru . One man died instantly, while the other two suffered minor injuries, avoiding serious injury thanks to rubber shoes. 360.ru .

On the same day, Arseny Buryakov, a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Physics of Neuromorphic Computing Systems at RTU MIREA, told RT that rubber is a dielectric, a material that does not conduct electric current well. According to him, theoretically, when lightning strikes, the thick sole of rubber boots can create some insulation between the human body and the ground, reducing the likelihood of current passing through the body.

On July 14, lightning struck wet sand on a beach in the Tula region, killing three people, including one child, Regnum news agency reports.

Evgeny Tishkovets, a leading specialist at the Phobos weather center, told NSN that in order to protect oneself in a thunderstorm, it is necessary not to come into contact with water, equipment and umbrellas, and simple mathematics will help determine how far a weather phenomenon is from a person.