This is Weird but...COVID Decreased Lightning Strikes

The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t just affected us. It’s also affected the weather. And this turns out to be a lucky natural experiment to help us understand how much we influence the world around us.

Hosted by: Hank Green

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How Covid is Helping Us Study Lightning

[dlollard]

Sometimes it seems like there's usually a lightning storm late on Independence Day or the next day (here in Midwest USA), and I've idly wondered if all the smoke particles from fireworks have something to do with it.

[jaredkennedy]

Due to reduced travel, there was less high altitude aerosols, and less material in the atmosphere to diffract sunlight or provide a nucleation point for moisture. Because of this, despite improvement in air quality, things still got hotter

[fourleafclover]

I appreciate that you include closed captions and links to all your sources cited. it gives you so much credibility, and helps me find out more. it also helps me when I'm writing essays and studies using your information

[Usatashizk]

wow! here was a correlation i never thought existed...

[Zeverinsen]

So you're telling me that less pollution means better weather!?
I think that would actually sell more people on the idea.

[bendeywendy]

In 2020 in The UK, the weather was amazing for months, coinciding with thr time everyone was off work. It was gorgeous and lots of people were outside when they wouldn't be normally (not me, I just worked from home with the same hours!)

[ninjanerdstudent]

No wonder Bowser’s castle always had so many lightning strikes.

[ScrapPalletMan]

"on one hand" Then Hank talks about gloves... LOL 🎵😃

[onewhoisanonymous]

I live in Southern China. We had a mandatory shut down because of Covid. Factories shut down and traffic significantly decreased. We were hit with major flooding, cold air and rain within a week. The government stated it was because of the rapid decrease in exhaust and heat, it caused a freak weather phenomenon. Not sure how much I believed, but it is an interesting thought.

[SoloQJoe]

"The amount of lightning over some parts of the world, especially Europe, Asia, and Africa, decreased"

Shockingly, this seems to imply that the Americas experienced some resistance to logical behavior during this period...

[twocvbloke]

Weird, I did note that last year there seemed to be fewer lightning storms where I live here in the UK, which was odd indeed... :\

[MaxBrix]

03:06 Higher specific temperature materials warm slower, absorb more energy and stay warm longer. A large body of water is so good at retaining heat that it will moderate the temperature of the surrounding area. The reason cities are warmer is a combination of factors including specific temperature, albedo, thermal radiation and reabsorbtion. When you heat the side of a big building the heat will radiate so that about 50% is reabsorbed by the ground and other buildings.

[thisisatonofbs]

Unless I'm mistaken, the city heat island effect isn't because cities "heat faster" than other places, but that they retain heat longer and eventually more of it than, say, flat open ground or forests. So, cities tend to be warmer than their surrounding rural areas.

[blessedveteran]

This really got me thinking....the most awesome lightening I have ever seen has been in Texas around the oil fields....now I get why 😮 . Also, got me thinking about fires caused by lightening. We have been trying everything to thin down the forests, when in reality it's us who are making more lightening. I have never heard any talk about this when they talk about how to prevent wildfires 🤔. We really should be looking more into this. Maybe then people would understand that we do play a part and can make changes (other than just thinning our forests, which is probably the opposite of helping) to lessen the chance of lightening starting more wildfires. Maybe 🤷‍♀️

[WenzelSays]

I'm currently wearing the same pizza John shirt as Hank. Lol

[DeathlyTired]

So we should pick a place, make it impossibly polluted, create conditions conducive to a continuous lightning storm and harness the constant energy...
Am I... am I becoming an evil mastermind?

[ekaust]

Idk why but seeing my city in one of the random stock videos made me happy 😂

[DunnickFayuro]

Could aerosols also affect air conductivity? That would also lead to more powerful bolts since they'd require more power to still form. Just a guess though...

[thomaswalsh]

Wow, both green brothers in one scishow video, how cool

[HansLemurson]

Lightning is also an important source of nitrates for plant fertility.