Lightning can trigger forest fires due to the intense heat they produce upon impact on the ground, which can ignite the surrounding vegetation.
In a thundercloud, strong turbulence causes ice crystals, water droplets, and particles to collide. These collisions create a separation of electric charges: negative charges generally concentrate toward the bottom of the cloud and positive charges toward the top. When the difference in charge becomes too intense, the air no longer acts as an insulator, triggering a spectacular electric discharge: lightning. This sudden electric discharge then moves toward the ground or another differently charged cloud, instantly balancing the charges by releasing a huge amount of light and thermal energy.
A lightning bolt is like a giant electric discharge, super fast, that releases a huge amount of energy all at once. Instantly, the air around this phenomenon heats violently, reaching temperatures close to 30,000 degrees Celsius. That's nearly 5 times hotter than the surface of the Sun! This extreme heat causes an explosive expansion of the air, creating a shockwave that you hear as thunder. The amount of energy released by a single lightning bolt is impressive, enough to briefly power a large city. And all of this happens in just a fraction of a second—suffice it to say that it's more than powerful enough to instantly ignite dry wood, grass, or tree branches upon impact.
When lightning strikes a tree directly, it instantly travels down its trunk from the top to the ground with enormous energy. The sap within the tree heats up violently, rapidly turning into steam, sometimes causing violent explosions of parts of the trunk or branches. This intense heat easily ignites the bark and leaves, especially if the tree is dry or diseased. Glowing pieces can also be ejected all around, risking igniting nearby vegetation. This phenomenon is called direct ignition and is a common and quick way to trigger a forest fire.
Already, dry vegetation such as dead leaves, branches, or well-yellowed grasses can ignite quickly. These dry plant materials have very little moisture, which facilitates their combustion. Then, if the ambient temperature is high, it makes the plants even drier and ready to catch fire at the slightest powerful electric shock. Add to this prolonged periods of drought or very little rain: the soil moisture decreases, and everything becomes extremely flammable. The wind also plays an important role, as it supplies the fire with oxygen, accelerates the initial combustion, and pushes the flames toward new areas to burn. Finally, forests with many dead branches and tightly packed trees provide a lot of well-grouped fuel for the fire to quickly gain intensity.
After a lightning strike, the fire often starts where the electrical current has hit directly. Dry wood, grass, or dead leaves quickly catch fire due to the intense heat released by the lightning. The wind plays a key role by moving the flames to other vegetation, promoting their rapid spread to neighboring trees. Burning debris, such as twigs or pieces of bark, can be hurled by the heat and wind for several meters, igniting new spots at a distance. The topography of the land is also an important factor: flames progress quickly up slopes due to the upward air current, making firefighting more complicated. If no natural barrier, such as a river, or human intervention quickly limits the spread, the burned area increases rapidly.
The majority of wildfires caused by lightning occur during or just after dry periods, when the vegetation, which is very low in moisture, ignites more easily.
When a lightning strike hits the ground, it sometimes causes fulgurites: glassy tubes created by the instantaneous melting of sand or minerals due to the intense heat of the lightning.
Every second, it is estimated that about 40 lightning strikes hit the surface of the Earth, which amounts to over 3 million impacts daily worldwide.
Some tree species, such as pines or eucalyptus, are particularly vulnerable to ignition after a lightning strike due to their highly flammable resin.
Yes, the installation of lightning rods in particularly exposed areas, the regular management and cleaning of underbrush as well as forests to eliminate flammable materials, and accurate weather monitoring can effectively reduce the risk of wildfires caused by lightning.
The fire caused by a lightning strike can spread rapidly depending on conditions such as dryness, wind strength, and the type and density of local vegetation, facilitating the quick extension of the fire beyond the initial impact site.
No, it is not possible to precisely predict where a lightning strike will occur. However, modern weather devices can identify areas that are likely to be affected by lightning during a storm, allowing for general preventive alerts.
Dry vegetation, dead wood, and the needles and dead leaves that have accumulated on the ground or on trees during dry periods are the materials most likely to be quickly ignited by a lightning strike.
Not all lightning strikes necessarily cause fires. This largely depends on local conditions such as humidity, the presence of dry or dead vegetation, and the lightning's ability to make direct contact with flammable materials.
A lightning bolt can reach temperatures of up to around 30,000 °C, which is five times the surface temperature of the sun. This extreme temperature is more than sufficient to ignite dry vegetation or debris on the ground, thereby starting a fire.
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