Due to its great extension and geographical location, Brazil is the country that receives the most lightning in the world. According to data collected by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) in 2021, our country receives an average of 77.8 million lightning strikes per year — leading this ranking and comfortably over second place, the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 43 .2 million rays. The United States comes next with 35 million of these phenomena per year.
INPE, when reporting the annual rate of almost 80 million lightning strikes per year in Brazil, already predicted an increase to around 100 million over the course of the 21st century. This trend, however, has already been observed: in 2021, more than 154 million discharges were recorded in the Brazilian territory, and in 2022 this number exceeded 190 million.
Within the country, the distribution of lightning is not equal. The North region is one that receives a lot of lightning for two reasons. The first is its size: with almost 4 million km², it is natural that the region adds more rays than the South, with half a million km². Second, the location closer to the Equator and the hydrography of the region favor the formation of storms.
So, in which Brazilian states does the most lightning fall per year?
The 3 states with the most lightning in Brazil
Historically, the three Brazilian states with the highest incidence of lightning are:
- Amazonas: 31 million occurrences in 2022
- Pará: 24 million
- Mato Grosso: 19 million
Minas Gerais, Tocantins and Rio Grande do Sul also frequently appear among the five states with the highest number of electrical discharges per year. In the latter, the state is under the influence of large storms formed in Uruguay and Argentina.
One factor that has been influencing the increase in the amount of lightning is climate change, which has made extreme rainfall increasingly frequent. In addition, pollution and heat islands associated with large urban centers also increase the incidence of lightning storms.
