Q: What phenomenon causes lightning and thunder in thunderstorms?

<p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr">Arab Weather - The phenomenon that causes lightning and thunder in thunderstorms is the electrical discharge that occurs due to the accumulation of electrical charges in the clouds.</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> During thunderstorms, water droplets and ice in the clouds are moved by strong winds, causing friction between the particles and the accumulation of different electrical charges (positive and negative).</p><p style=";text-align:left;direction:ltr"> When there is a large difference in charges between parts of a cloud or between a cloud and the ground, an electrical discharge occurs in the form of a powerful spark called lightning. Lightning heats the air around it very quickly, causing the air to expand suddenly. This rapid expansion causes a sound wave that we hear as thunder.</p>