It was the terrifying prospect of lightning one day striking the historic windmill that troubled Andrew Farrell. A bolt five times hotter than the surface of the sun instantly vaporizes the moisture in one of the mill’s timbers, exploding it. What if a raging fire engulfs the 160-year-old building? Perhaps most troubling, he couldn’t shake the thought that this nightmare could become more likely with each passing year—due to climate change.
So Farrell of the Broads Authority, a British public body, decided to install a lightning protection system at Mutton’s Mill, a 19th-century windmill that stands in a flat and wide wetland landscape in eastern England that known as the Norfolk Broads.
“These mills remain as perfect conductors in the sky,” Farrell said. Inside Mutton’s Mill is a rare waterwheel, once used to drain the marshes here for agricultural purposes. The mill itself is a protected historic building measuring 23 meters high, including its sails. Thousands have been spent restoring it in recent years.
Now, attached conducting rods were placed at the ends of the mill’s four sail arms, ready to capture an angry lightning bolt and send it harmlessly through the rods buried in the nearby swamp. Farrell is confident it will save the historic structure. Although he added: “You know, if it gets hit, it’ll probably scare the bejesus out of the owl hanging out there.”
According to the UK’s Royal Meteorological Society, for every degree of atmospheric warming, the air can hold about 7 percent more moisture. Warmer, wetter air means a greater risk of thunderstorms and, therefore, lightning, the Society added. Farrell said that, anecdotally, he has noticed increased electrical storm activity in Norfolk. Scientists remain uncertain of the extent to which lightning frequency may increase worldwide. But organizations are already taking the threat seriously—and are quietly moving to protect buildings and critical infrastructure from future strikes.
Based on information found in online documents, among the bodies currently weighing the risks is Scottish Water, which considers lightning strikes at biogas sites potentially more likely—such incidents could harm workers or members of the public. The International Civil Aviation Organization, for its part, is considering the possibility of more frequent lightning causing delays in flight schedules, damage to aircraft, or damage to radar towers. Network Rail in the UK also discusses the threat to signaling and electrical equipment on railways in a presentation document.
And in a 2021 report, National Grid Electricity Transmission, the company that maintains the high-voltage power network in England and Wales, said it had gathered “evidence that lightning is increasing around our assets in some areas”. While the system is currently more resilient, the report added, “the impact of increased lightning in the future needs to be considered.”
The US Department of Defense is also concerned about lightning, said Caroline Baxter, a senior adviser at the Council on Strategic Risks. “One thing that’s not appreciated is the risk that military installations face from the effects of climate change—including things like lightning,” he said, noting that some states are particularly susceptible. of lightning, such as Louisiana and Georgia, also happen to be home to major military bases.
