This is the bizarre moment a group of tourists visiting the desert suddenly have their hairs standing up from the immense static electricity.
Phone footage shows the visitors – especially the women – with their heads like hedgehogs walking across the sand near the city of Turpan, in north-western China’s Xinjiang Region.
The video – shared on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok – shows the group hastily returning to their vehicle as several women’s hairstyles are spiked up as if they were made of needles.
The group quickly left the picturesque dunes behind in fear that lightning might strike the area.
They reportedly had to travel for nearly two miles before their hair returned to normal.
According to Mr Li, who recorded the video, the driver of the car at the time mentioned that he lived in the area for over a decade and had never encountered such a situation before.
Feng Minxue, the director of the Jiangsu Provincial Lightning Protection Centre, later told local media that running away quickly is not the best approach in such situations.
Instead, he advised future visitors the best approach would be to descend to lower ground.
Minxue said: “If there’s no time to leave a high point, quickly crouch down with your feet close together and your hands avoiding contact with the ground, while protecting your head and knees.”
Wu Xueke, an associate professor at the School of Atmospheric Sciences at Lanzhou University, stated that this phenomenon occurs when the clouds above become charged.
People resemble a sharp point, and the distortion of the electric field above their heads becomes significant, which causes their hair to stand on end due to static induction.
In extreme cases, individuals might be at risk of being struck by lightning.
Mr Li said the sky was indeed cloudy that day and it had even rained a few hours prior.
Thankfully, he said everyone was able to leave safely.
