General information

These tables provide information on the number of cloud-to-ground lightning discharges, or CG flashes, in different geographical regions. CG flashes represent electrical discharges between thunderclouds and the earth's surface. In contrast to cloud-to-cloud lightning discharges, or CC flashes (Cloud to Cloud Flashes), where the discharge occurs within the thundercloud, CG flashes reach the ground.

The distinction between CG flashes and cloud-to-cloud lightning discharges is crucial. CG flashes are characterised by their direct interaction with the earth's surface. This type of lightning discharge can have a significant impact and cause damage as the lightning strikes the earth directly. This is in contrast to pure cloud-to-cloud lightning discharges, which take place within the thundercloud and have no direct contact with the ground.

Several strokes (partial flashes) are grouped into flashes if they fulfil certain spatial and temporal criteria.

The tables enable a regional analysis of the frequency of CG flashes, which in turn provides insights into the distribution of lightning activity in different areas. This is of particular importance for the development of lightning protection measures and understanding the geographical variation of lightning events. By focussing on CG flashes, specific information about lightning strikes on earth is provided, which differs from pure cloud-to-cloud lightning discharges.
 

Structure of the table

The table consists of several categories, and for most tables there are corresponding diagram views.

Country selection

You will find the available countries in the bottom line of the table. If you change a country, the same view is displayed for the selected country, if possible. This means that lightning statistics can be compared country by country.

Navigation

The top line of the table contains the menu with which you can switch between different views. By default, the overview of all available years across all federal states of the selected country is displayed (e.g. Overview of lighning discharges in Austrian).

In the line below, you can select a federal state to display the monthly lightning figures for this state (e.g. Table of lighning discharges in Bavaria in Germany). The menu in the first line allows you to switch from one federal state to the next or return to the general overview.

Note: The daily statistics of a federal state are for internal use only and require access data.

Diagram view

On the overview page, you can select a graph view on the right above the diagram. In this view, you can switch to see either the number of lightning strikes in the individual federal states or the total number for the whole country over the years (e.g. Diagram of lightning discharges in Styria in Austria).

More views

Annual overview

The menu item with the country name (e.g. "Austria") corresponds to the "Total" selection in the federal states column. This table shows the total number of flashes per month for the selected country (e.g. Anual and monthly table of lightning statistics in Swizerland). Selecting one of these flash numbers opens a graphic with the daily statistics for the selected period (e.g. Chart of daily statistics of the Neatherlands in July  2021).

In this chart, you can use the page navigation to directly select a different year (first column of the table) or a different month (first row of the table) in order to compare the data. To switch back to the table, click on the X in the chart or on Table on the right above the table.

Comparison view

In the annual comparisons, calculations of lightning activity from previous years up to the current calendar day are carried out. This methodical data collection enables a detailed comparison of the lightning figures for the current year with the corresponding figures for previous years. (e.g. Yearly comparison table till yesterday in Austria).

This makes it possible to determine whether there have already been more flashes in the current year than in previous years. Here too, a diagram can be displayed showing the comparison either for the country as a whole or for the individual federal states (e.g. Yearly comparison table till yeaterday in Upper Austria).