As the Arctic warms, lightning strikes are more frequent -- even near the North Pole

The Arctic is not usually a hotbed for lightning -- the air is simply not warm enough for thunderstorms to usually occur. But as the Arctic warms at an alarming rate, that lightning frequency is changing as well.

In fact, Arctic lightning has tripled in just the last decade, according to a new study, published this week in the Geophysical Research Letters. The University of Washington study used data collected by its network of lightning sensors, called the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN), which has been tracking lightning strokes globally since 2004. The data showed that above 65 degrees latitude the number of lightning strikes has increased significantly from 2010 to 2020.