World's longest lightning strike: 829km

The World Meteorological Organization has just confirmed the longest lightning strike ever recorded in the world, traveling 829km and crossing several US states.

Lightning is also a major danger, claiming the lives of many people around the world every year - Photo: EDWARD MITCHELL

On July 31, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed a new world record: a "super lightning" strike measuring 829km in length.

This "super lightning" occurred on October 22, 2017, during a major thunderstorm. The lightning stretched from eastern Texas to near Kansas City, Missouri, a distance roughly equivalent to the distance between Paris, France, and Venice, Italy. It would take a car 8-9 hours, and a commercial airplane at least 90 minutes, to travel that distance.

"Lightning is a wondrous phenomenon, but it is also a major danger that claims the lives of many people around the world every year."

"These new findings highlight public safety concerns related to charged clouds that can generate lightning that travels over extremely long distances, and have a major impact on aviation as well as causing wildfires," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

The WMO recorded this new record with the help of the latest satellite technologies. There may be some error, varying by approximately ±8km within the 829km length of the lightning strike.

The WMO has also recorded several other extreme lightning strikes. For example, the longest duration of a single lightning strike was 17.102 ±0.002 seconds during a thunderstorm in Uruguay and northern Argentina on June 18, 2020. Or the deadliest lightning strike occurred in 1975, killing 21 people simultaneously while they were sheltering in a hut in Zimbabwe.

The only safe places during a lightning strike are sturdy buildings with electrical wiring and plumbing, not structures on the beach or at bus stops. Next is inside a car with a metal roof, not on a motorcycle.

If lightning strikes within a 10km radius, seek shelter. Remember that lightning strikes very quickly, so try to run as fast as you can.

ANH THU

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tia-set-dai-nhat-the-gioi-829-km-20250801111507546.htm