A new satellite map from NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and OrbView-1/Microlab reveals where lightning most often flashes across the globe. If you live close to the equator, you may want to invest in home insurance.
The map uses data collected from 1998 to 2013 based on the number and location of lightning flashes. The flashes are more common near the equator, and lightning tends to flash over land more often than over the ocean, Discovery News reports. Land absorbs sunlight more quickly than water, which creates stronger convection and higher levels of atmospheric instability, causing lightning-producing storms, NASA explains.
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