A study linking the effects of the closures accompanying Corona and the decline of the lightning phenomenon

Washington-Sana

A recent scientific study has linked the closures that accompanied the outbreak of the Corona virus around the world to a noticeable decline in the phenomenon of lightning.

A study presented at the meeting of the American Geophysical Union analyzed atmospheric factors that may have contributed to the decline in lightning by between 10 and 20 percent during the year 2020, which witnessed the peak of closures.

A meteorologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, lead author of the study, Earl Williams, said that his team used 3 different methods to measure lightning, all of which indicated a decrease in activity associated with this weather phenomenon, according to the American "Fox News" network.

The study focused on the optical depth of the aerosols, which measures the particles resulting from burning fuels, as these particles can accelerate and enhance the aggregation of water vapor, the formation of clouds, and the emergence of lightning.

But with the wave of closures around the world, the burning rates of fuel and hence the amount of these particles in the atmosphere decreased, knowing that their collision with clouds is the charges responsible for generating lightning.

The study compared lightning activity and aerosol levels in the period between March and May 2020 with the same period in 2018 and 2021.

The study confirmed that the lightning retreat was generally consistent with a decrease in the amount of aerosol particles in several regions in Africa, Europe and Asia, with a smaller decrease in the Americas.

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