Fewer lightning strikes predicted

Lightning may strike less often in future as the planet warms, a scientific study suggests.

Scientists from Edinburgh, Leeds and Lancaster universities used a new method to calculate the likely incidence of lightning flashes from storm clouds.

They found there is likely be a 15 per cent drop in the average number of lightning flashes worldwide by the turn of this century.

This could also impact on the frequency of wildfires, especially in tropical regions.

Fewer strikes to infrastructure could also affect how greenhouse gases in the atmosphere contribute to climate change.

Dr Declan Finney of the University of Leeds, and formerly of the University of Edinburgh, said: “This research questions the reliability of previous projections of lightning and encourages further study into the effects of climate change on cloud ice and lightning.”

Unlike traditional calculations of lightning flashes, their approach took into account the movement of tiny ice particles that form and move within clouds.

Electrical charges build up in these particles and in cold water droplets and soft hail formed inside clouds.

These are discharged during storms, giving rise to lightning flashes and thunder.

Scientists estimate there are 1.4 billion lightning flashes each year around the world.