The number of lightning strikes has decreased due to the influence of the pandemic



Due to the effects of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), people refraining from going out and the burning of fossil fuels is suppressed, reducing the amount of

aerosols in the air that affect the lightning generation process, and the number of lightning strikes worldwide. It became clear that was reduced.

How will lightning change during the pollution-reduced COVID-19 pandemic period? A data study on the global lightning activity
https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm21/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/917688



Pandemic weather: the link between COVID-19 and lightning

https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/climate/covid-19-and-lightning/

The aerosol released by the combustion of fossil fuels may be wrapped in water vapor and become droplets in the air, but as the number of aerosols increases, the water vapor combines with more aerosols, so each droplet is one. It is smaller in size and soars to higher altitudes. It is said that ice crystals and droplets that have changed with hail collide with each other in the air to accumulate static electricity, and the potential difference between the upper and lower layers created by this causes lightning.

According to a study by Earl Williams and colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the total number of lightning strikes between March and May 2020, when the global city blockade took place, was down about 8% compared to the past two years. That. It has been confirmed that aerosols also decreased during the same period, especially in China and Europe, where the number of lightning strikes decreased significantly, and it is known that aerosols have decreased significantly.



Williams and colleagues said, 'The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced air pollution because people have refrained from going out. The main cause of lightning is temperature, but not only temperature but also air pollution is one of the factors.

Efforts to curb climate change should help reduce lightning. '



in Science, Posted by log1p_kr