Spatial analysis of atmospheric discharges in Lubelszczyzna in 2018

Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyse lightning discharges over the Lublin region in 2018 using GIS tools. The methods and systems for detection and location of lightning discharges were presented. The impact of terrain coverage, height above sea level, and location of transceiver stations of mobile operators on the occurrence of discharges was shown. The study provides knowledge of theoretically safer areas and those particularly vulnerable to lightning strikes. Additionally, statistics related to lightning discharges over the Lublin region in 2018 were presented. The analyses were carried out on vector data on the atmospheric discharges, vector data from the transceiver stations, vector data containing information on administrative units, and data from the CORINE Land Cover 2018 and on the digital elevation model. The results of the analyses confirmed that areas of airports are particularly exposed to lightning strikes, whereas beaches and sand dunes are the safest areas. It was also found that lightning strikes more often hit coniferous forests than deciduous forests. As indicated by the statistics, May is the month with the largest number of stormy days, while the largest number of lightning strikes is July.