DHAKA, May 2, 2026 (BSS) - Voluntary organisation Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum (SSTF) has advised farmers to follow three key guidelines to reduce the risk of lightning-related deaths in the country.

The recommendations include taking immediate shelter in a safe place upon seeing dark clouds while working under open skies, avoiding taking shelter under trees during rainfall under any circumstances and wearing footwear while working in the fields.

In a press release, SSTF said the majority of lightning-related fatalities in Bangladesh are farmers. Most recently, 14 people were killed by lightning on April 26. So far this year, 72 people have died due to lightning strikes, most of them farmers working in open fields.

Marking the May Day, SSTF conducted an awareness campaign among over a hundred farmers in the Arial Beel area of Munshiganj on Friday, where they also demonstrated various safety techniques.

Several SSTF teams visited different fields in Sirajdikhan upazila of Munshiganj and Nawabganj upazila of Dhaka, dividing farmers engaged in paddy harvesting into small groups to deliver safety messages.

SSTF General Secretary Rashim Molla, Head of Research Cell Abdul Alim, Joint Secretary Mostak Ahmed and other volunteers were present during the campaign.

Rashim Molla stressed the urgent need for constructing shelters in rural areas to ensure farmers' safety at the field level. He also called for regular awareness programmes on lightning from March to June.

Joint Secretary Mostak Ahmed said the risk of lightning is increasing due to global warming and indiscriminate cutting of large trees in rural areas. He advised farmers to seek shelter in concrete structures instead of under trees.