South Africa faces severe thunderstorms as lightning warnings issued

South Africans, especially in the country’s northern parts, are familiar with lightning splitting the sky, followed by a deafening crack of thunder.

Most of the time, when the first boom tears through the skies, people tremble and animals seek shelter underneath beds.

About 90% of people struck by lightning survive, according to Etienne Gerber, a lightning specialist and chief director of Blitz-Detect, a company specialising in lightning protection products.

While people struck by lightning in fantasy films and books may develop extraordinary superpowers, the reality is far less magical. Lightning survivors can suffer serious injuries and long-term complications, with some left dealing with lasting physical and psychological effects, says Gerber.

“Some victims develop unusual, branching marks on their skin known as Lichtenberg figures. These reddish patterns resemble the delicate branches of a fern or the veins of a leaf spreading across the skin,” explains Gerber.

Although they can look dramatic, they are not conventional burns and usually fade within hours to a day or two. Other victims may sustain actual burns, nerve damage, hearing problems or eye injuries, while some experience lasting neurological or psychological effects.

Lightning-related deaths reported across South Africa in 2025 and 2026 have highlighted the dangers of severe thunderstorms, with at least 15 fatalities reported in incidents covered by Caxton publications.

The latest tragedy was the death of 26-year-old Mozambican farmworker Rassie John Panja, who reportedly died in a suspected lightning strike near the old Witbank Dam in Mpumalanga on October 15. Other incidents included the deaths of a 15-year-old schoolboy from Mhluzi and three people struck by lightning at a church gathering in Limpopo.

Gerber advises people to monitor the South African Weather Service’s (SAWS) online alerts.

“Do you see the red, green and yellow dots on the screen?” Gerber asks. “This is the algorithm indicating where severe storms are brewing and where we can detect changes in lightning strikes.”

The technology helps identify developing storms and monitor lightning activity, offering an early indication of potentially dangerous weather conditions.

Its importance was highlighted today (October 27), when the eThekwini Municipality’s Disaster Management and Emergency Services teams were placed on standby after the SAWS issued a Yellow Level 4 warning for severe thunderstorms. The warning was valid from noon until 22:59.

Thunderstorms were also forecast for elsewhere in the country, with isolated to scattered showers and thundershowers expected across central and eastern regions, including Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and parts of the Eastern Cape.

Despite repeated warnings from meteorologists to avoid taking shelter under trees during thunderstorms, Gerber says they remain an obvious refuge for people caught outdoors.

However, a tree offers no reliable protection from lightning. In fact, standing beneath one can expose a person to several potentially fatal pathways for an electrical current.

“Trees are often among the tallest objects in an area, making them more likely to be struck by lightning.

“During a thunderstorm, electrical charges build up between clouds and the ground. As a lightning discharge develops, the electrical field near the ground can cause upward electrical channels to form from objects such as trees,” Gerber explains.

Thus, when one connects with the descending lightning channel, an enormous electrical current flows through the resulting path.

He says that when lightning strikes a tree, the current can travel down its trunk towards the ground. The intense heat can rapidly turn moisture within the tree into steam, potentially causing the bark to split or explode and branches to break.

Gerber says lightning data must be collected and analysed over several years to identify reliable patterns and changes in lightning activity.

This is because thunderstorms and lightning vary from year to year, depending on weather conditions and seasonal patterns. A single year of data cannot establish whether lightning activity is increasing or decreasing over time.

Research by Morné Gijben of the SAWS, published in the South African Journal of Science, used lightning data collected between 2006 and 2010 to develop a more reliable picture of lightning activity across the country. The research identified the central and northern interior, particularly areas along the eastern escarpment, as regions with some of the highest concentrations of lightning strikes.

“The most fatalities are among young adults and children. I suppose they are less knowledgeable about the dangers of lightning than many older adults,” Gerber says.

Gerber says historical records from Blitz-Detect indicate that lightning activity has changed over the years. He recalls that estimates from about seven years ago put South Africa’s annual lightning strikes at between 70 million and 90 million. He believes the number of strikes may have increased since then, although comparable data would be needed to confirm this.

Gerber also believes climate change may influence lightning patterns, including in areas that have historically experienced fewer thunderstorms. However, he says, determining whether lightning activity is increasing in a particular region requires long-term data and further scientific research.

Lightning safety guidance says the safest place to be when lightning threatens is inside a substantial, fully enclosed building or a hard-topped vehicle with the windows closed.

The SAWS advises people to take thunderstorms seriously and seek shelter as soon as they hear thunder.

Lightning can strike several kilometres from the area where rain is falling, so waiting until a storm is directly overhead can be dangerous.

To reduce the risk of being struck by lightning:

If you are caught outdoors with no safe shelter nearby, there is no completely safe position. Move away from isolated trees, water and exposed high ground, and keep moving towards proper shelter if you can do so safely.

Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel.

Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal.

Yolanda Lemmer 4 minutes read Facebook X LinkedIn Tumblr Pinterest WhatsApp Telegram Share via Email Print Support local journalism Add The Citizen as a preferred source to see more from Network News in Google News and Top Stories.