Rare Arctic lightning storms strike north of Alaska

What is the news?

The National Weather Service of the USA has said that three successive thunderstorms have taken place across the Arctic region, producing between 100 and 200 lightning strikes.

What is Lightning?

• Lightning is an electrical discharge caused by imbalances between storm clouds and the ground or within the clouds themselves.

Arctic lightning:

• According to a study, episodes of summer lightning within the Arctic Circle have tripled since 2010.

Why has it tripled?

• Lightning in this region is historically rare, as it usually isn’t warm enough to generate the right thunderstorm conditions during which lightning occurs.
• But due to climate change and increasing loss of sea ice in the far north, the Arctic region is warming faster than any other region on Earth.
• Hence, this has created more favorable conditions for intense summer thunderstorms that produce lightning.

Impact of Lightning on Arctic Region:

• The Arctic residents in northern Russia, Canada, Europe, and Alaska need to prepare for the danger of more frequent lightning strikes.
• Moreover, the shipping vessels throughout the Arctic could be more vulnerable to these strikes.