Every day, 44,000 lightning storms strike the planet. The planet is struck by lightning 6,000 times every minute. The average lifetime of a storm on earth is 8 minutes. The average distance between strikes is 40 miles. The most intense single bolt on earth causes 5 million volts of electricity to flow for a few thousandths of a second. A full charge on your camera's shutter produces about 100,000 volts so this is enough power to jumpstart a car! Lightning has been observed by humans since before Christ. It is mentioned in the Bible as an important element in creating a world without sin: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of his heart was only evil continually. And God passed judgment against all the world, and there was no one who did not see it." (Genesis 6:5-6). People have always been interested in lightning because it is a powerful natural phenomenon and because its study can help us understand more about our environment and ourselves. In today's world lightening plays a major role in global climate change because it is one of the most efficient ways for nature to remove energy from the atmosphere.