Lightning Pollution: Satellites Reveal Hidden Impact on Air Quality (Image: Canva)
You glance at storm clouds while stuck in traffic. A flash of lightning brightens the sky, but what follows is more than light and thunder. Each strike also releases gases that influence the air we breathe.
How did scientists track lightning pollution?
Researchers at the University of Maryland used NASA's TEMPO satellite. The instrument monitored thunderstorms across the eastern United States in June 2025. TEMPO usually records pollutants hourly from 22,000 miles above Earth. This experiment captured data every ten minutes as storms evolved. It allowed scientists to measure nitrogen dioxide linked with lightning in real time.
Professor Kenneth Pickering said storms change quickly within an hour. The short-interval data gave snapshots of processes never observed before. His colleague Dale Allen added they also counted lightning flashes. That helped estimate nitrogen dioxide produced by each lightning strike. Such information improves climate models and explains how lightning affects pollution.
Why is light pollution significant?
When lightning strikes, air molecules are split by heat. The reaction produces nitrogen oxides, gases also created by car exhausts. Lightning contributes 10% to 15% of global nitrogen oxides. Though smaller than human sources, lightning releases them at higher altitudes. At such levels, nitrogen oxides more effectively generate ozone. The ozone formed warms the atmosphere and can travel far. Sometimes, it even affects air quality hundreds of miles away.
No, it also triggers hydroxyl radicals in the sky. These molecules are important because they cleanse gases like methane. Researchers linked nitrogen oxides from lightning to hydroxyl formation. This connection helps explain how storms shape atmospheric chemistry. Allen noted lightning flashes may vary in pollutant output. Intense storms could shorten flashes and reduce nitrogen oxide levels. Proving this remains a key goal of their analysis.
What are the practical impacts?
Lightning gases may move long distances on air currents. They can sometimes add to surface ozone, a smog component. Pickering said people in mountainous regions like Colorado are affected. Here, surface ozone from lightning can worsen respiratory problems. Improved forecasting could warn communities about post-storm air quality.
Allen explained that uncertainties remain about pollutants per lightning strike. The TEMPO experiment provides fresh data to refine estimates. Better predictions may guide health protection and environmental planning. The mission is a joint effort between NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, which manages TEMPO's operations and data production.