Earth

Let’s learn about lightning

These bolts are beautiful — and deadly

multiple lightning strikes seen striking at the horizon over water

Lightning (seen here in Trieste, Italy) can be beautiful, but it can also be deadly.

Jurkos/iStock/Getty Images Plus

By Sarah Zielinski

Around 100 times a second, every hour of every day, lightning strikes somewhere on Earth. It might strike over the ocean, far from where anyone might see it. It might hit the beach, perhaps forming a beautiful deposit of fulgurite. It might strike a tree, setting off a wildfire. And on rare occasions, it might hit a person, injuring or even killing them.

In fact, some 24,000 people are killed each year by lightning. This is why you should seek cover any time there’s a thunderstorm in the area. Even if the storm doesn’t appear close, you might still get struck.

Lightning comes in many forms. There are the big bolts from cloud to the ground, of course, but also plenty that travel between clouds in the sky. There’s also blue jets, red sprites and ball lightning. (There’s also lightning in space: Jupiter has its own light shows of “sprites” and “elves.”)

While most lightning appears and disappears in a flash, some can last longer. An extreme bolt over Argentina on March 4, 2019 lasted 16.73 seconds, setting a record. And while lightning can form anywhere, scientists have mapped where the biggest bolts tend to strike — Europe is one hot spot.

And while lightning can do a lot of damage, it’s not all bad. Scientists have reported these bolts can forge atmosphere-cleaning chemicals called oxidants. Those chemicals help pollutants rain out of the sky. And that’s especially good since climate change is expected to bring us more of those big bolts.

Lightning is more complex than a simple bolt that goes from cloud to ground. It also travels between clouds, can occur in a ball or even be colored red or blue.

Want to know more? We’ve got some stories to get you started:

Here’s how lightning may help clean the air Airplane observations show that storm clouds can generate huge quantities of air-cleansing chemicals known as oxidants. (5/18/2021) Readability: 6.8

Space station sensors saw how weird ‘blue jet’ lightning forms A mysterious type of lightning in the upper atmosphere has been traced to a brief, bright flash of light at the top of a storm cloud. (2/2/2021) Readability: 7.4

Where will lightning strike? When lightning strikes, the results can be deadly. But nature’s dazzling light show also can provide scientists with insights into when and where the next thunderbolt might strike. (9/16/2014) Readability: 7.0

Explore more

Scientists Say: Fulgurite

Scientists Say: Radiation

Explainer: What is thundersnow?

Hotspots found for lightning’s superbolts

Lightning strikes will surge with climate change

Lightning megaflashes set big new distance and duration records

Activities

Word find

Learn more about how lightning forms and see how much you can create with this game from SciJinks, a site all about the weather from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Power Words

More About Power Words

atmosphere: The envelope of gases surrounding Earth or another planet.

chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O. Chemical also can be an adjective to describe properties of materials that are the result of various reactions between different compounds.

cloud: A plume of molecules or particles, such as water droplets, that move under the action of an outside force, such as wind, radiation or water currents. (in atmospheric science) A mass of airborne water droplets and ice crystals that travel as a plume, usually high in Earth’s atmosphere. Its movement is driven by winds.

forge: (noun) A furnace or shop where metal is worked and turned into new materials. (verb) To shape metals under heat and/or pressure, or (colloquially) to form one element from another under the intense heat and pressure inside stars.

insight: The ability to gain an accurate and deep understanding of a situation just by thinking about it, instead of working out a solution through experimentation.

Jupiter: (in astronomy) The solar system’s largest planet, it has the shortest day length (10 hours). A gas giant, its low density indicates that this planet is composed of light elements, such as hydrogen and helium. This planet also releases more heat than it receives from the sun as gravity compresses its mass (and slowly shrinks the planet).

lightning: A flash of light triggered by the discharge of electricity that occurs between clouds or between a cloud and something on Earth’s surface. The electrical current can cause a flash heating of the air, which can create a sharp crack of thunder.

NASA: Short for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Created in 1958, this U.S. agency has become a leader in space research and in stimulating public interest in space exploration. It was through NASA that the United States sent people into orbit and ultimately to the moon. It also has sent research craft to study planets and other celestial objects in our solar system.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: (or NOAA) A science agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Initially established in 1807 under another name (The Survey of the Coast), this agency focuses on understanding and preserving ocean resources, including fisheries, protecting marine mammals (from seals to whales), studying the seafloor and probing the upper atmosphere.

pollutant: A substance that taints something — such as the air, water, our bodies or products. Some pollutants are chemicals, such as pesticides. Others may be radiation, including excess heat or light. Even weeds and other invasive species can be considered a type of biological pollution.

radiation: (in physics) One of the three major ways that energy is transferred. (The other two are conduction and convection.) In radiation, electromagnetic waves carry energy from one place to another. Unlike conduction and convection, which need material to help transfer the energy, radiation can transfer energy across empty space.

weather: Conditions in the atmosphere at a localized place and a particular time. It is usually described in terms of particular features, such as air pressure, humidity, moisture, any precipitation (rain, snow or ice), temperature and wind speed. Weather constitutes the actual conditions that occur at any time and place. It’s different from climate, which is a description of the conditions that tend to occur in some general region during a particular month or season.

About Sarah Zielinski

Sarah Zielinski is the Editor, Print at Science News Explores. She has degrees in biology and journalism and likes to write about ecology, plants and animals. She has three cats: Oscar, Saffir and Alani.

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