Influence of the COVID-19 lockdown on lightning activity in the Po Valley

Abstract

The relationship between aerosol concentration and lightning is complex. Aerosols can act as cloud condensation nuclei, contributing to the formation of cloud droplets, cloud electrification and lightning, while high concentrations of aerosols can contribute to a decrease in lightning due to radiative effects. Meteorology plays a dominant role in lightning activity, distorting the effect of aerosols. More measurements, as presented here, are needed to establish the complex relationship between aerosols and lightning.The Po Valley, a heavily industrialized region, was highly affected by the COVID-19 lockdown. The reduction of non-essential activities and mobility coincided with a significant drop in pollutant concentrations and lightning. We investigate the relationship between lightning, meteorology and aerosols. We find that the variation in lightning during the lockdown cannot be fully attributed to meteorology.

Characteristic analysis of lightning activities on the Yungui Plateau using ground-based remote sensing

“…Based on the ERA5 dataset of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) (Pérez-Invernón et al, 2021), the surface temperature, precipitation, surface sensible heat flux, relative humidity (850 hPa), CAPE and precipitation rate are collected to analyze the meteorological conditions of the Yungui Plateau from 2016 to 2020. The spatial resolution of the obtained data is 0.25 °× 0.25 °, and the temporal resolution is 1 month.…”

Influence of convection on the upper-tropospheric O<sub>3</sub> and NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> budget in southeastern China

“…At present, most aircraft observations and model simulations of convection effects focus on the tropics or the United States (Vaughan et al, 2008;Barth et al, 2019). Little is known about the role of convection in southeastern China (Murray, 2016;Guo et al, 2017), where thunderstorms and lightning have increased significantly because of urbanization during recent decades (Yang and Li, 2014;Pérez-Invernón et al, 2021). This is likely due to the increasing aerosol concentration, which can invigorate storms in a moist and convectively unstable environment (Koren et al, 2008;Rosenfeld et al, 2008;Tao et al, 2012).…”