NASA reveals world's lightning capital

Researchers at NASA have announced that the world has a new lightning capital.

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Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela has been named as the place that experiences the most flashes on the planet, with an annual occurrence rate of 233 flashes per square kilometer.

The body of water is incredibly large and rests in the Andes Mountains.

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As breezes often come off the peaks and converge with the much warmer and wetter air over the lake, nighttime storms occur regularly.

While Africa's Congo Basin lost the top spot, the continent is still plenty meteorologically active.

6 of the 10 most vigorous lightning hotspots are located there, primarily around Lake Victoria and bodies of water in the East African Rift Valley.

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission – in particular the Lightning Imaging Sensor – gathered the data used in the study.​

University of São Paulo

Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela has been named as the place that experiences the most flashes on the planet, with an annual occurrence rate of 233 flashes per square kilometer.

The body of water is incredibly large and rests in the Andes Mountains.

As breezes often come off the peaks and converge with the much warmer and wetter air over the lake, nighttime storms occur regularly.

While Africa's Congo Basin lost the top spot, the continent is still plenty meteorologically active.

6 of the 10 most vigorous lightning hotspots are located there, primarily around Lake Victoria and bodies of water in the East African Rift Valley.

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission – in particular the Lightning Imaging Sensor – gathered the data used in the study.