Lightning to rainfall ratio: a global perspective

Abstract

The present study has attempted to explain the spatiotemporal distributions of lightning to rainfall ratios. A detailed analysis revealed that the lightning to rainfall ratio is prominent near the equator, followed by the horse latitudes experiencing cooler and arid conditions. However, longitudinally, these ratios peak only around large landmasses in contrast to rainfall. Further, the equatorial African regions experience an arid climate with unprecedented lightning due to orographic convection leading to the maximum lightning to rainfall ratio values. The thermodynamic properties depict a single but gradual peak slightly north of the equator. At the same time, the longitudinal variation reveals consistently higher values of instability and clouds over land due to its lower heat capacity. Further, these observations are also supported by the seasonal variations except for the presence of prominent seasonality across the subtropical land regions.