Frequency and Distribution
Lightning strikes 40–50 times a second worldwide, for a total of nearly 1.4 billion flashes per year.
Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning accounts for 25% of lightning globally. The base of the negative region in a cloud is typically at the elevation where freezing occurs. The closer this region is to the ground, the more likely cloud-to-ground strikes are. In the tropics, where the freeze zone is higher, 10% of lightning is CG. At the latitude of Norway (60° lat.) where the freezing elevation is lower, 50% of lightning is CG.
Lightning is not distributed evenly around the planet. About 70% of lightning occurs on land in the tropics, where most thunderstorms occur. The north and south poles and the areas over the oceans have the fewest lightning strikes. The place where lightning occurs most often is near the small village of Kifuka in the mountains of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the elevation is around 975 metres (3,200 ft). On average this region receives 158 lightning strikes per 1 square kilometer (0.39 sq mi) a year. Other hotspots include Catatumbo lightning in Venezuela, Singapore, Teresina in northern Brazil and "Lightning Alley" in Central Florida.
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