Here is something else to worry about. Researchers have found that intense solar storms on the sun can increase the amount of lightning on the earth. So….. does more solar activity mean more lightning-caused wildfires?
Here is an excerpt from an article at the BBC:
…”The solar wind is not continuous, it has slow and fast streams. Because the Sun rotates, these streams can be sent out behind each other – so if you have a fast solar wind catching up with a slow solar wind, it causes a concentration to occur,” said Dr Scott.
The scientists found that when the speed and intensity of the solar winds increased, so too did the rate of lightning strikes.
The team said the turbulent weather lasted for more than a month after the particles hit the Earth.
Using data from northern Europe, the researchers found there was an average of 422 lightning strikes in the 40 days after the high-speed solar wind arrived, compared with 321 strikes in the 40 days prior…
The finding was surprising, said Dr Scott, because it had been thought that an increase in the solar wind would have the opposite effect.
Thanks and a hat tip go out to Bean.
