Rising global temperatures could cause more lightning strikes in the U.S. over the rest of the 21 century in the latest example of extreme weather caused by climate change.
Researchers said on Thursday that they expect lightning strikes will increase by about 50 percent by 2100 in the continental United States since thunderstorms will become more explosive in the next few decades due to a warming planet, according to Reuters.
This could lead to more wildfires because lightning already triggers at least half of these incidents in the United States, the researchers said. Lightning also kills dozens of Americans annually, with that risk expected to rise.
When you consider factors like precipitation levels, cloud buoyancy and warming air, the scientists predicted a 7 percent increase in the number of lightning strikes with each degree Fahrenheit global average temperature increase.
The 11 different climate models used in the study showed an increase of 7 degrees Fahrenheit between now and 2100.
"There are about 30 million strikes per year in the contiguous U.S. now. So, in 2100, we would expect about 45 million per year," said climate scientist David Romps of the University of California, Berkeley and the U.S. government's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, according to Reuters.
"For every two lightning strikes in 2000, there will be three lightning strikes in 2100," Romps added.
Romps led the study published in the journal Science.
"As the planet warms, there will be more of this fuel lying around, so when thunderstorms get triggered, they will be more energetic. This increase in thunderstorm energy is the primary reason for the projected increase in lightning strikes," Romps said.
A number of experts blame weather intensity in recent years on global climate they attribute to human activity.
"The body of research attributing trends in extreme weather to human influence is certainly growing rapidly," said University of California, Berkeley climate researcher Jacob Seeley, according to Reuters.
"We are pushing our climate system into uncharted territory, and that means we're going to see phenomena that are extreme compared to what humans have experienced thus far during the relatively short amount of time we have been flourishing on this planet," Seeley added.
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