Charging smartphones from wall sockets during thunderstorms poses a serious risk of battery destruction and localized domestic fires, even though the devices themselves do not attract lightning strikes, a Russian physics researcher has warned.
Arseny Buryakov, head of the Terahertz Spintronics Laboratory at RTU MIREA, told news outlet Gazeta.ru that lightning strikes on electrical lines generate powerful overvoltage surges. These high-voltage impulses propagate rapidly along conductive wiring and enter residential buildings directly through electrical outlets, creating severe risks for any equipment connected to the mains grid.
Connecting a mobile device to a charger links its internal battery directly to the building's electrical circuit. Buryakov explained that when a major voltage spike travels down the line, it can destroy the charging block, ruin the smartphone battery, and potentially spark localized fires inside the home.
Risks to household electronics
To protect valuable equipment during severe weather, Buryakov advised residents to disconnect all sensitive electronic devices from wall sockets. The precaution applies not only to mobile phones but also to desktop computers, televisions, and wireless internet routers, which contain delicate microcircuitry susceptible to electrical surges.
The physicist also warned against using fixed landline telephones during a thunderstorm. High-voltage impulses from lightning strikes can travel through external telecommunication cables directly into the handset, creating a risk of electric shock for anyone holding the receiver to their ear.
Rising lightning frequency
The expert advice comes alongside previous warnings from climate scientists that global climate change will cause lightning strikes across Earth to occur with increasing frequency. Humanity will have to adapt to these heightened thunderstorm conditions until international targets on global warming are met.
The United Nations has set a global goal to limit temperature increases to below 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels under the Paris Agreement. Researchers stress that until emissions stabilize and this climate threshold is achieved, severe weather events and frequent electrical storms will remain a persistent operational threat to domestic power infrastructure.
