Reduction in Global Lightning Activity During the COVID Pandemic

IF 3.8 2区地球科学 Q2 METEOROLOGY & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Pub Date : 2025-04-28 DOI:10.1029/2024JD042319

Yakun Liu, Earle Williams, Anirban Guha, Gabriella Satori, Osmar Pinto Neto, Ryan Said, Robert Holzworth, Katrina Virts, Timothy Lang, Yanan Zhu, Jeff LaPierre, Elizabeth DiGangi

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Abstract

The effect of anthropogenic aerosols on lightning is one of the least understood aspects of human-induced climate change. Global aerosol clearly diminished during the COVID pandemic by 7.6%. A pronounced decrease in global lightning activity in the range 3.0%–5.8% is identified from various detection systems during this natural experiment. The Maritime Continent lightning chimney shows the largest reduction of 7.0% in aerosol accompanied by a lightning drop of 15%. The COVID period in 2020 also experiences a transition from pre-COVID El Niño to a strong and sustained La Niña. Compensation for ENSO forcing of lightning activity is implemented to disclose the distinct responses of three global lightning chimneys to competing thermodynamic and aerosol effects. Our observational findings indicate a marked influence of aerosol on a global scale by virtue of the extraordinary COVID-induced aerosol alteration.

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COVID大流行期间全球闪电活动的减少

人为气溶胶对闪电的影响是人类引起的气候变化中最不为人所知的方面之一。在COVID大流行期间，全球气溶胶明显减少了7.6%。在这次自然实验中，各种探测系统发现全球闪电活动明显减少3.0%-5.8%。海洋大陆闪电烟囱显示气溶胶减少幅度最大，为7.0%，同时闪电减少15%。2020年的COVID期间也经历了从COVID前的El Niño到强劲和持续的La Niña的过渡。对闪电活动的ENSO强迫进行补偿，揭示了三个全球闪电烟囱对相互竞争的热力学和气溶胶效应的不同响应。我们的观测结果表明，由于冠状病毒引起的非同寻常的气溶胶变化，气溶胶在全球范围内产生了显著影响。

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来源期刊

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Earth and Planetary Sciences-Geophysics

CiteScore

7.30

自引率

11.40%

发文量

684

期刊介绍： JGR: Atmospheres publishes articles that advance and improve understanding of atmospheric properties and processes, including the interaction of the atmosphere with other components of the Earth system.