For 140 to 160 nights in a year, for 10 hours at a time, constant lightning pierces the sky above Catatumbo River in Venezuela, with as many as 280 strikes per hour. Known as “Relampago del Catatumbo”, it is visible 400 kms away and is so regular that it’s used as a navigation aid by ships, called the “Maracaibo Beacon”. It is methane gas rising from the Catatumbo bogs meeting storm clouds coming down from the Andes. Interestingly, little to no sound accompanies it. As it rips through the air, it produces nitrogen oxide, which is broken down by sunlight and converted into ozone. With roughly 1.2 million lightning discharges per year, it is considered the world’s greatest ozone producer.
Catatumbo lightning changes its frequency throughout the year, and it is different from year to year. For example, it ceased from January to March 2010, apparently due to drought, temporarily raising fears that it might have been extinguished permanently.
Picture Credit : Google