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.