Scientists have conducted a study and found out in which places on the planet lightning strikes most often. Experts announced the results of the study at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
Climatologists from the University of São Paulo in Brazil used satellite data from 1998 to 2013 in their research. The data were collected by the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) spacecraft on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite of NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Lightning strikes on Lake Catatumbo at night.
Photo: RedAndr / wikipedia.org / CC BY-SA 3.0
The device collected data with a resolution of up to 0.1 degrees of latitude, which corresponds to approximately 11 kilometers. This provided detailed detailing of all characteristics.
Lightning puzzle
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The study found that, in general, the Mitumba Mountains in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Cameroon Mountains in West Africa were the most vulnerable to lightning strikes. Most of all electrical discharges were recorded there.
However, scientists paid more attention to regions in which at least 1,000 people live. Among these in the first place was the city of Lagunitas in Venezuela. There, lightning strikes almost continuously strike Lake Maracaibo. On average, electrical discharges over the lake break out 297 days a year. Moreover, they arise in the same place - where the lake flows into the Katatumbo River.
Lightning strikes on Lake Catatumbo at night.
Photo: RedAndr / wikipedia.org / CC BY-SA 3.0
Second and third places were taken by the cities of Cabaret and Kampene in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In general, Africa has the most places where lightning strikes often. Of the 500 settlements selected by scientists, 283 ended up in Africa. According to scientists, the entire continent is covered with such "hot spots".
In North America, there were 53 such settlements. The list also includes the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula. Cuba is also a magnet for electrical discharges.
There are 87 locations in Asia that are prone to lightning strikes. Pakistan ranks first among Asian countries. But in Europe there is not a single settlement where lightning often falls.
Studies by Brazilian scientists have also shown that during the daytime lightning strikes more often over the coasts, when afternoon showers come with a warm breeze. At night, lightning strikes mainly over the ocean. In addition, it turned out that all the regions loved by lightning are in the mountainous area.