Shutterbugs on quest to get the perfect shot as lightning ignites Singapore sky

One of them, Wong Liang Piow, 47, said he started chasing lightning when he got his hands on the first camera that allowed photographers to capture lightning easily at night.

Wong, who has been on a quest to capture lightning shots since 2014, said: “I love chasing lightning because the intensity of nature is frozen in a moment which our eyes cannot visualise.”

SGStormTrackers members can count themselves lucky that they are in Singapore, which can stake a claim to being one of the lightning capitals of the world.

Paul Lee, 44, and James Gan, 54, together with Wong, founded the group during the pandemic three years ago.

Now 120 members strong, the group usually meets every few months, said Lee. “But lightning season has given us a reason to hang out with each other every weekend,” he added.

Lee said a big part of the fun he has chasing lightning comes from the planning and tracking of a storm.

He said: “On some special days when the sky absolutely blows up, the scene is stunning beyond words. The sound, the huge flashes, the smell of the storm, the wind… it’s unbelievable.”

Novice shutterbugs keen to take photos of lightning can join their interest group, where experienced photographers can give them tips on the best conditions to shoot, such as location and wind direction, said Gan, who uses two apps for storm chasing: Lightning Alarm and NEA’s myENV mobile app.

myENV gives information about the movement of storm clouds over Singapore and the weather forecast, among other things.

In Singapore, about 50 % of the year’s lightning days are in April, May, October and November – months that fall between the two major monsoon seasons.

The northeast monsoon blows from December to early March, and the southwest monsoon is from June to September.

The island gets warmer weather during inter-monsoon season, which, along with other conditions, results in more lightning activity, said the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS), which falls under the National Environment Agency.

An MSS spokesman said that lightning strikes are produced by thunderstorm clouds, which occur when there is moisture in the air amid an unstable atmosphere.

Lightning can also strike even when there is no rain or thunderstorm clouds in the area. Although the bolts mostly strike within 6km of a thunderstorm cloud, lightning strikes have been documented to occur more than 10km away, said the spokesman.

When people are outdoors and thunder is heard, they should seek shelter, he added.

He said: “People in open spaces, as well as tall structures, are more at risk of being struck by lightning. While outdoors and thunder is heard, seek shelter in a building or a car, and wait at least 30 minutes after the thunder is last heard before resuming outdoor activities.”

Associate Professor Koh Tieh Yong from the Singapore University of Social Sciences said the reason for greater lightning activity outside monsoon season is stronger solar radiation and light winds, making the atmosphere more conducive for the formation of thunderstorm clouds.

He said: “Strong solar radiation leads to higher surface temperatures, and hence the air is warmer and more buoyant.”

He added that regional winds are light but often become more intense as well, due to the absence of monsoon systems.

Prof Koh, who is a weather and climate scientist, said the absence of such a large system gives way to smaller local weather systems like land-sea breezes that spawn brief but strong local gusts.

With the predominance of smaller-scale weather systems like thunderstorms during the inter-monsoon season, the energy within the system itself is more concentrated, he added.

“Up-and-down air movement is enhanced, causing stronger electrical charging as cloud droplets collide, resulting in more frequent lightning activity,” he said.

Gabrielle Chan

The Straits Times

Asia News Network