Washington: An extraordinary celestial event in 2020 has been declared a new world record. It was a 768 km long thunderstorm that was seen in three US states.
This photo was taken on April 29, 2020. It featured a "mega flash", the longest flash of lightning in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Now the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has set a new record for the longest lightning strike.
Earlier in 2018, a 709 km long lightning strike was recorded in Brazil.
Usually in thunderstorms we see flashes of lightning in the sky. A flash can be 10 to 15 km long and lasts up to one second.
However, according to scientists, the lightning strike was caused by a severe storm in which no casualties were reported.
Scientists have published a report on climate intensity. The same report also details the longest lasting lightning.
On June 18, lightning struck the border between Uruguay and Argentina for 17 seconds, another record.
