Jul 4, 2021 - Science

Lightning strikes surge in British Columbia

Yacob Reyes

Wildfire burns above the Fraser River Valley near Lytton, British Columbia, Canada, on July 2. Photo: James MacDonald/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Lightning strikes in Western Canada have surged over the past few days, triggered in part by an unprecedented heatwave that also induced wildfires, Reuters reports.

The big picture: British Columbia, which usually accounts for about 5% of Canada's yearly lightning strike total, reported its annual number in less than 48 hours.

A meteorologist, who tracks lightning, noted about 710,000 lightning events in British Columbia and Alberta Wednesday.

Driving the news: The onslaught of wildfires enduring in the area has resulted in a high moisture level in the atmosphere.

The moisture ultimately fuels its own towering thunderstorms and a surge of lightning strikes that itself has caused several forest fires, per Reuters.
The fires are expected to burn through 247,105 acres by the end of the weekend, a higher figure than in previous years.

Go deeper: Ferocious wildfires destroy British Columbia town amid historic heat

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Lightning strikes surge in British Columbia

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