States » EastPosted at: Oct 14 2026 5:52PM


Odisha to draft lightning safety SOP, 2027 action plan at national workshop

Bhubaneswar, Oct 14 (UNI) Odisha will formulate a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for lightning safety and a comprehensive action plan for 2027 at a two-day national workshop beginning here on Thursday, aimed at reducing lightning-related deaths and strengthening community-level preparedness.
The key outcome of the workshop will be the proposed “Lightning-Safe Odisha: 2027 Action Plan and 2027–2030 Roadmap”, designed to ensure coordinated action in forecasting, risk reduction, public awareness, early warning dissemination and emergency response.
The initiative seeks to bridge the gap between scientific research, government planning and grassroots implementation, with the overarching goal of preventing avoidable loss of life and protecting vulnerable communities from lightning hazards.
The workshop will bring together experts from leading national scientific and technical institutions, universities, disaster management agencies, researchers and district-level officials to strengthen lightning detection, forecasting, risk assessment and early warning systems.
It will deliberate on scientific, technological and administrative interventions to minimise lightning-related fatalities and damage, with particular emphasis on protecting farmers, agricultural labourers, outdoor workers, students and people living in high-risk areas.
The first day will focus on strengthening lightning detection, monitoring and forecasting through satellite data integration, numerical weather prediction, emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) applications, and panchayat-level decision-support systems.
Experts from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS), National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar, Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC) and Cape Electric will share their expertise and experience.
The sessions will explore ways to improve forecasting accuracy, extend warning lead times and translate scientific information into actionable inputs for local-level decision-making.
The second day will focus on ground-level interventions to prevent lightning-related deaths and injuries. Key areas of deliberation will include a lightning risk mitigation roadmap for Odisha, identification of high-risk hotspots, risk-mapping methodologies, farmer-specific risk assessments, lightning protection standards, low-cost lightning shelters and emergency management for lightning strike victims.
A dedicated working session will examine ways to convert scientific forecasts and warnings into timely, accessible safety messages for farmers, schools, outdoor workers and vulnerable communities. Participants will discuss the use of SMS alerts, mobile applications, Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVRS), sirens, local announcements and community networks to strengthen last-mile warning dissemination.
The deliberations will also seek to establish warning levels, clearly define the responsibilities of departments and administrative authorities, streamline emergency response procedures and develop measurable indicators to monitor the implementation of the proposed action plan.
The proposed roadmap is expected to provide a coordinated framework for integrating scientific advances, administrative action and community participation to make Odisha safer from lightning hazards.
UNI DP
Tags: #Odisha to draft lightning safety SOP# 2027 action plan at national workshop
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