Spatial lightning changes during Covid Lockdown over South Asian Region

Published:

This study, conducted under the guidance of Dr. Devendraa Siingh and Dr. Jeni Victor from IITM Pune, aimed to analyze changes in lightning patterns from April 2020 to March 2022, corresponding to the COVID-19 lockdown in India and neighboring countries. The investigation involved a comparison with earlier data, focusing on the monsoon months (June to September). Utilizing NASA’s Global Hydrometeorology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center (GHRC DAAC) TRMM LIS dataset, the research identified a noteworthy shift in lightning flash concentration over West Bengal (India), Bangladesh, and parts of North Eastern India towards the South-Western direction. This shift is potentially linked to a decrease in aerosol concentration. For detailed code used in data processing, please refer to my GitHub repository [linked here].