Lightning is an unforgettable light show in the sky

Lightning — one of the most beautiful, majestic phenomena of nature. Occurring mainly during storms, lightning often provides everyone with unforgettable light shows in the sky.

Each year, lightning strikes more than 1.3 billion times, and about 100 people die from it.

Lightning strikes near the Davis Besse nuclear power plant in Ohio.
(Photo Jonathon Bird | AP)

The current in a lightning strike reaches 10-20 thousand amperes.

Flashes of lightning in the Croatian port city of Pula. (Photo Nikola Solic | Reuters):

The average length of a lightning bolt is 2.5 km, with some strikes extending up to 20 km in the atmosphere.

Lightning strikes near two F/A-18C Hornet fighter-bombers on the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. (Photo U.S. Navy):

A person struck by lightning may lose consciousness, fall, and often stop breathing and have no heartbeat. 'Current marks' can usually be found on the body, indicating the entry and exit points of electricity.

Lightning strikes over fields early in the morning in Illinois. (Photo Bill Gaither | AP):

The likelihood of a lightning strike on a ground object increases with its height.

A 190-year-old church spire in Massachusetts caught fire from a lightning strike. The fire was extinguished. (Photo Jim Smith):

The temperature of the channel during a main strike can exceed 25,000 °C.

The night sky in Montevideo — the capital of Uruguay. (Photo MARIANA SUAREZ | AFP):


Clouds and lightning over the buildings of Parliament in London. (Photo Lewis Whyld | AP):


Lightning strikes through storm clouds over the Agua volcano in Antigua. (Photo Carlos Barria | Reuters):


Lightning in the city of Athens, Georgia. (Photo Kelly Lambert | AP):


Lightning over Lake Lecco, Italy. (Photo Marco Uberti):


Lightning strikes during a thunderstorm in Beijing near the city's tallest skyscraper — the Shanghai World Financial Center. (Photo FREDERIC J. BROWN | AFP):


A lightning strike near the shuttle at Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Photo Gene Blevins | Reuters):


Lightning over the Kremlin and the Moscow River. (Photo Sergey Ponomarev | AP):


Lightning illuminates the sky and buildings in Bangkok. (Photo NICOLAS ASFOURI | AFP):


Lightning over an American military base in Logar Province, Afghanistan. (Photo Shamil Zhumatov | Reuters):


Flashes illuminate the sky over the city of Pula, Croatia. (Photo Darko Bandic | AP):


In southwestern Afghanistan. (Photo John Moore | Getty Images):


Lightning strikes the ground in Kansas. (Photo John Hacke | AP):


Lightning on the beach in Florida. (Photo David Massey | AP):


Lightning strikes over the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis in the Gulf of Siam. (Photo U.S. Navy):


Photo of lightning taken from the deck of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. (Photo U.S. Navy):


Night storm in the suburbs of Prague. (Photo Reuters):


Lightning pierces the sky near a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo SAEED KHAN | AFP):


Lightning strikes over Death Valley National Park in California. (Photo Steve Marcus | Reuters):


Lightning illuminates the sky during a thunderstorm over the Federal Palace in Bern, Switzerland. (Photo Michael Buholzer | Reuters):


More lightning over the Federal Palace in Bern, Switzerland. (Photo Michael Buholzer | Reuters):