Trees wired against lightning

Trees wired against lightning

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore will wire 100 historic and
prominent trees islandwide to protect them against lightning
attacks, an official said on Tuesday.

"Lightning is one of the major causes of death for trees in
Singapore," said Ian Turner, assistant director of horticulture
at the Singapore Botanical Gardens.

"We decided that there are many large trees in prominent
places that people care for and that we should do something to
protect them," he said.

Singapore is one of the most lightning-prone areas in the
world, meteorologists say.

The Straits Times newspaper reported on Tuesday that ten large
trees are ravaged by lightning a year, leaving about two dead and
the others with broken branches and greater susceptibility to
fungus attacks.