Striking reduction in the annual number of lightning fatalities in the United Kingdom since the 1850s
Elsom, Derek M.
Since 1852, the number of UK lightning fatalities has decreased markedly from 1.1 deaths per million people per year in the 1850s to 0.01 by the 2010s. The activities people were undertaking when killed and their locations have changed markedly. In the 1850s, most victims were working outdoors in labour-intensive agriculture or were indoors in ungrounded buildings. Today, fewer people work in agriculture and safe locations are readily available (well-grounded buildings and fully-enclosed motor vehicles). Currently, most lightning victims - far fewer annually than in the late eighteenth century - are those participating in outdoor leisure, recreation and sport activities.
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