The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has certified a new world record for the longest duration lightning flash and another for the greatest horizontal extent.
These records, which are more than double the previous ones, have been approved by the UN agency specializing in weather, climate, and water. These experts, including the Spanish Manola Brunet, keep a record of the most extreme phenomena at a regional, hemispheric, and global level.
The new world record for the lightning flash with the greatest horizontal extent was 709km, like the distance between Valencia and Santander, and took place on October 31, 2018, in Brazil. And the new world record for the longest duration lightning flash, which occurred on March 4, 2019, in Argentina, was 16.73 seconds.
Previously, the records were set at 321km of horizontal reach and 7.74 seconds of duration.
“These are extraordinary records from single lightning events. Environmental extreme measurements are living evidence of what nature is capable of, as well as the scientific advances that have been made to be able to carry out these assessments. It is likely that even greater extremes exist, and that we will be able to observe them as lightning detection technology evolves,” explained Professor Randall Cerveny, WMO rapporteur on world records of extreme weather and climate events.
