Page 32 - EngineerIT April May Issue 2026

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Stopping lightning on demand

By Hans van de Groenendaal, Science and Technology writer

Canadian startup claims it can stop lightning and prevent wildfires,
but researchers are less confident

he subject of severe lightning A Vancouver-based weather modification startup, Skyward Wildfire, says it can
and possible prevention is prevent catastrophic wildfires by stopping the lightning strikes that ignite them.
Tof great interest to South Skyward Wildfire describes itself as the world’s first company dedicated to
Africa. Not only because lightning preventing lightning-caused wildfires. In 2025, during its first operational season,
strikes can start veld fires, but also the company worked with wildfire agencies to deploy AI-powered lightning
because of the danger of serious forecasting and prevention systems across high wildfire-risk geographies.
injury and loss of life, particularly Skyward says its proprietary technology enables government agencies and
in rural areas. In South Africa, an asset owners to identify where lightning is most likely to ignite fires and to
average of 264 people are killed by take preventative action before ignitions occur, reducing risk to communities,
lightning strikes annually. ecosystems and critical infrastructure.

An article by James Temple, The company, which played a major role during the Canadian 2023 wildfires,
“Could technology be employed recently raised millions of dollars in funding to accelerate product development
to stop lightning strikes?”, caught and expand operations. With the new capital, Skyward plans to scale deployments
my attention. He writes in MIT across additional wildfire-prone regions, supporting government agencies, utilities,
Technology Review. insurers and land managers facing increasing wildfire risk.

32 | EngineerIT April/May 2026