Does the solar wind cause thunderstorms on Earth?

ArabiaWeather.com - Scientists from the University of Reading in Britain have discovered that ionized particles from the solar wind stream may influence the level of activity of thunderstorms.

"We were able to find evidence that the high-speed solar wind currents are able to increase the number of lightning strikes and strengthen them," said senior author of the study, meteorologist Chris Scott.

Earlier, a hypothesis was put forward that cosmic radiation containing particles from around the universe speeding to almost the speed of light plays an important role in thunderstorms on Earth, but the new study provides evidence that weaker energy particles produced by the sun also affect the formation of lightning strikes. during storms.

The study included thunderstorm data in central Britain from 2000 to 2005 from the British Met Office's flare monitoring system, as well as data collected by NASA's ICE spacecraft located near the L1 Lagrange point. On the straight line between the sun and the earth.