Work

The Global Lightning Energy Census: Total Power of the Planetary Spark

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Lightning energy is computed as E=QV: cloud-to-ground flashes release 2.0e9 to 3.0e10 J (central 7.5e9 J) and intracloud flashes 5.0e8 to 4.5e9 J. With the satellite global flash rate of 44 per second, split 25% cloud-to-ground and 75% intracloud, total global lightning power is 132 GW (range 38.5-478.5 GW), 0.66% of human power use, 7.6e-5% of intercepted solar power, and about 352 times the fair-weather global circuit power. Lightning is spectacular per event and negligible in the planetary energy budget.

Source: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.24102301

Author: Aldred, William Alexander

Language: English

Topic: Lightning and Electromagnetic Phenomena

Subfield: Atmospheric Science

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W7225735264

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