Lightning strikes make collecting a parasitic fungus prized in traditional Chinese medicine a deadly affair

On the distant Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, a rare fungus grows in dead caterpillars. In traditional Chinese medicine, this parasitic fungus is valued for its effects alleged medicinal effects. Also known colloquially as caterpillar fungus or “Himalayan gold”, it may well fetch astronomical prices on the herbal medicine market: as much as $63,000 per pound.

Fungus is a parasite that affects the caterpillar Ghost moth larva. The process begins in late summer to early fall when fungal spores infect the caterpillars. Over time, Fungal threads called mycelia slowly spread and eat the caterpillars from the within, turning them into hardened, mummified shells by winter. When spring comes, the fungus enters its final stage: a grass-like fruiting body sprouts from the top of the preserved caterpillar and pushes its way through the bottom.

While many traditional Chinese/herbal medicine consumers are drawn to the mushroom for its purported health advantages, my interest lies within the darker side of its harvest: the deadly link between caterpillar mushroom gathering and lightning strikes. As a meteorologist I study lightning and its impact around the globe. There are several aspects that make the situation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau so dangerous.

A deadly harvest

Meanwhile, people hunt for this mushroom Late spring and summerexactly when lightning strikes are most typical in these mountains. Villagers often spend weeks searching the rugged mountains for this precious resource, sometimes as much as 16,400 feet (5 kilometers) above sea level. That's a height of greater than 3 miles.

At these altitudes, the weather can change straight away and there is no such thing as a secure place to cover from storms. Although this area is just not as often struck by lightning as some parts of Asia, it remains to be dangerous enough to pose a serious threat during these crucial harvest months.

Tragically, caterpillar fungus hunting has resulted in a minimum of 31 lightning-related deaths and one other 58 lightning-related injuries over the past decade, in response to the China Meteorological Hazards Yearbooks (Yearbook of Meteorological Disasters in China) and government web sites, including the China Meteorological Administration and the China National Disaster Reduction Center.

In May 2022, seven villagers from China, including a small child, were killed by lightning while harvesting the mushroom. The following 12 months there have been three people from Nepal injured by lightning while collecting the mushroom and needed to be rescued by helicopter after being stranded within the mountains for days.

In our current studymy colleague Ronald Holl and I discovered that population-weighted lightning mortality rates within the mushroom-picking hotspots of Yushu and Garze counties in China's Sichuan province are staggering – 10 to twenty times higher than the already elevated rates in China overall. These numbers correspond to those of a few of Africa's most lightning-prone regions, where there may be little lightning-safe infrastructure or safety education.

But lightning isn't the one threat these mountain villagers face. You could face hail, heavy rain, strong winds and other severe weather conditions. The complex terrain makes weather conditions extremely dramatic and unpredictable. Making matters worse, cellphone signals and other communications are limited or non-existent, leaving villagers cut off from weather warnings.

They could also face threats from wild animals and dangerous mountain slopes. In one tragic case, a collector was struck by lightning and fell to his death on steep terrain. Medical care isn’t available. In the event of an accident, it may well take days for help to reach.

Why take the danger?

It all comes right down to the undeniable fact that collecting caterpillar mushrooms is high risk and high reward.

For villagers, the potential advantages of harvesting caterpillar mushrooms are significant. Since income opportunities are limited on this distant region, many consider the mushroom trade to be their job best hope for survival. They face a difficult decision: risk their lives or sink into poverty.

Improving lightning protection education and infrastructure is very important, but removed from easy. Any real change would require numerous investment.

While the local government organizes some training on lightning protectionthese mountain communities are isolated and the knowledge is commonly old-fashioned. And there may be simply no practical option to install adequate lightning protection within the vast, rugged terrain where the fungus accumulates.

A fragile undertaking

The environment also suffers. With so many individuals looking for the fungus, they’re damaging the fragile mountain soil by cutting down trees for firewood and leaving trash of their camps.

Years of overharvesting forced foragers to spend more time within the mountains to search out enough mushrooms, increasing their exposure to lightning and causing the fungus to say no. Scientists warn that if this aggressive harvest continues, the The fungus could disappear completely in the subsequent a long time.

There is perhaps hope. Researchers do research Ways to cultivate the mushroom as a possible substitute for the wild harvested variety. Meanwhile, governments are in China, India, Nepal And Bhutan have introduced regulations to guard the sustainability of the caterpillar fungus.

But any solution must address the underlying economic and academic inequalities on this distant region and supply these communities with latest ways to earn a living in order that they don't should risk their lives within the hunt for “Himalayan gold.”