MapMaster 3

A global map shows lightning flashes per square kilometer per year (flashes per square kilometer per year).

The map illustrates global lightning frequency. Areas with less than 0.1 flashes per square kilometer per year are shaded in light green and include most ocean regions, northern Canada, the Sahara Desert, and parts of western and northern Europe. Areas with 0.1 flashes per square kilometer per year are shaded in light yellow and are scattered along parts of oceanic regions and coastal regions. Regions with 0.2 flashes per square kilometer per year are shaded in light purple and include parts of oceanic regions, coastal regions in the north of Canada and Russia. Areas with 0.4 flashes per square kilometer per year are shaded in red and are scattered along the Atlantic ocean, coastal regions on the north of Russia, Indian Ocean, and Pacific ocean. Areas with 0.6 flashes per square kilometer per year to 1 flash per square kilometer per year are shaded in blue to light green, covering northern Canada, the contiguous United States (excluding the Southeast), parts of South America, much of northern region of Europe, most of Africa south of the Sahara, and most of South, East, and Southeast Asia, including south of Australia. Areas experiencing 2 to 10 flashes per square kilometer per year, indicated by pink to blue shades, include the Southeastern United States, parts of Central and South America, and large areas in Africa, South, East, and Southeast Asia. High lightning frequency regions (20 to 50 flashes per square kilometer per year) are highlighted in dark pink to dark red, located in Southeastern United States, Colombia in South America, Central Africa (notably the Democratic Republic of Congo), and Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia.