# Aside from starting fires, what are the environmental effects of lightening? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940 "2018-08-01T18:44:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/1 "2018-08-01T18:44:12Z")
Are there other environmental effects, positive or negative? Does it clean the air? Does it create water? Is it overall positive, neutral or negative in regard to its effect on the environment. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/2 "2018-08-01T18:48:59Z")
It’s responsible for adding a huge amount of nitrogen to soil, which fertilizes plants. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/3 "2018-08-01T18:53:37Z")
Lightning is powerful enough to break the triple bonds of N2 molecule in the atmosphere, producing [nitrates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_fixation#Non-biological_natural_nitrogen_fixation). These NOx molecules (helped often by rain) then enter the soil where they become a fertilizer for plants. (Ninja’d) Lightning also produces ozone (O3) which in low quantities is sometimes sensed as a “clean” smell by people but doesn’t do a whole lot of of good and is more of a pollutant. ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/4 "2018-08-01T18:54:48Z")
Lightning creates a significant amount of air pollution in the US: it’s responsible for 5% of the NOx emissions there annually and 14% in July (when one assumes lightining strikes are at their peak. Lightning also creates a lot of ozone, which is a pollutant at low altitude and beneficial at high altitude (because it blocks UV radiation at high altitude. Here’s a cite: [https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/0312pollution.html](https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/0312pollution.html) It’s a little depressing that a NASA article uses the misspelling “lightening,” but everyone makes mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![Hapax\_Legomenon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8c91f0/32.png) [@Hapax\_Legomenon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hapax_Legomenon)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/5 "2018-08-01T20:01:46Z")
Lightning stimulates mushroom growth, for poorly-understood reasons. > **[National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/)** > > Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/6 "2018-08-01T20:31:35Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > Aside from starting fires, what are the environmental effects of lightening? Well, when you **lighten** things, it means you use less material, which often means less pollutants are released to the environment during manufacturing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Delicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@Delicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Delicious)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/7 "2018-08-01T20:33:54Z")
It probably keeps giraffe populations down but ive got no cites ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/8 "2018-08-01T21:40:23Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Lightning also produces ozone (O3) which in low quantities is sometimes sensed as a “clean” smell by people but doesn’t do a whole lot of of good and is more of a pollutant. Lots of people mistake the smell of [petrichor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrichor) for the smell of ozone. I’ve spent time with a TIG (arc) welder, which produces ozone for the same reason that lightning does. I don’t think I’d call ozone a clean-smelling gas…I find it mildly (and pleasantly) acrid. I’m not saying you got it wrong, FTG. I just wouldn’t have described ozone as “clean-smelling.” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/9 "2018-08-01T22:02:10Z")
> [@EdelweissPirate](#): > > Lots of people mistake the smell of [petrichor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrichor) for the smell of ozone. I’ve spent time with a TIG (arc) welder, which produces ozone for the same reason that lightning does. I don’t think I’d call ozone a clean-smelling gas…I find it mildly (and pleasantly) acrid. > > I’m not saying you got it wrong, FTG. I just wouldn’t have described ozone as “clean-smelling.” It’s definitely awful smelling in high enough amounts. But I’ve spent enough time in the desert to know “that smell” can’t be caused by rain hitting the ground when there’s lightning but no rain or the rain evaporates before hitting the ground. I now live in a humid area with lots of thunderstorms (including one today). The “wet ground” smell after a storm is quite common and is unlike the ozone smell described above. Really quite different. Note the info on the [history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone#History) of ozone on Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/10 "2018-08-01T22:39:39Z")
> [@Delicious](#): > > It probably keeps giraffe populations down but ive got no cites Giraffe struck by lightening: > **[National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/)** > > Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/11 "2018-08-02T01:16:26Z")
Well, there are conifers whose cones rely on lightning-started fires to release their seeds. Certain coniferous forest floor flora and fauna also depend on occasional fires. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/12 "2018-08-02T04:06:53Z")
As of date, Science does not fully understand the mechanisms of lightning. Nevertheless, there is good evidence for NOx and Ozone as pointed above. ---
**Author:** ![Sloe\_Moe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sloe\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sloe_Moe)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/13 "2018-08-02T07:52:19Z")
It fuzzes sand to form fulgurite and lecheltalierite. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/14 "2018-08-02T14:16:15Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > As of date, Science does not fully understand the mechanisms of lightning. … Huh? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/15 "2018-08-02T15:55:15Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > As of date, Science does not fully understand the mechanisms of lightning. Nevertheless, there is good evidence for NOx and Ozone as pointed above. > [@](#): > > [Lightning is a giant spark of electricity in the atmosphere between clouds, the air, or the ground](https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/lightning/). In the early stages of development, air acts as an insulator between the positive and negative charges in the cloud and between the cloud and the ground. When the opposite charges builds up enough, this insulating capacity of the air breaks down and there is a rapid discharge of electricity that we know as lightning. The flash of lightning temporarily equalizes the charged regions in the atmosphere until the opposite charges build up again. > > Lightning can occur between opposite charges within the thunderstorm cloud (intra-cloud lightning) or between opposite charges in the cloud and on the ground (cloud-to-ground lightning). > > Lightning is one of the oldest observed natural phenomena on earth. It can be seen in volcanic eruptions, extremely intense forest fires, surface nuclear detonations, heavy snowstorms, in large hurricanes, and obviously, thunderstorms. [The National Severe Storms Laboratory](https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/16 "2018-08-02T16:18:47Z")
The comment that we don’t have a clear understanding of the mechanisms of lightning is correct. > **[Lightning Still Largely a Mystery](https://www.livescience.com/34245-lightning-mystery.html)** > > Despite 250 years of scientific investigation, lightning still confounds scientists' understanding of basic physics. > **[Scientists find clues to the mystery of what causes lightning](https://phys.org/news/2016-02-scientists-clues-mystery-lightning.html)** > > It's well-known that lightning is an electric current—a quick, powerful burst of charge that flows within a cloud or between a cloud and the ground. But surprisingly, scientists still don't fully understand how the initial spark forms that generates... ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/17 "2018-08-02T17:18:50Z")
It’s how the Earth gets charged… seriously. Google that. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/18 "2018-08-02T17:44:03Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > It’s how the Earth gets charged… seriously. Google that. Google what? ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/19 "2018-08-02T18:07:56Z")
that ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940/20 "2018-08-02T19:27:55Z")
Lightning extracts minerals from rocks which at one point in time was an important step for the beginnings of life. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aside-from-starting-fires-what-are-the-environmental-effects-of-lightening/818940.md?page=2)