Ecobreves – BRAZIL: La Niña Throws Lightning Bolts

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 18 2008 (IPS) - This year there will be more lightning in Brazil. January saw a 35-percent increase over January 2007 in the southeast, the most populous region of the country, according to the National Institute of Space Research. This is the result of the climate phenomenon known as La Niña, in which the surface waters of the Pacific Ocean cool down, altering atmospheric circulation and causing collisions between hot and cold air masses over Brazil, with more frequent and heavy rains, Osmar Pinto Junior, coordinator of the Institute's atmospheric electricity group, told Tierramérica.

Lightning strikes will kill 70 to 80 people in Brazil this year, predicts Pinto. In 2007, the lightning death toll reached 46. Brazil is the world leader in lightning, with about 60 million strikes each year.