Tonga's Hunga volcano unleashes record-breaking lightning storm.
The eruption of the Hunga undersea volcano near Tonga in January 2022 produced the most intense lightning storm ever recorded on Earth, with 2,600 flashes per minute at its peak. The eruption generated hundreds of thousands of lightning events in just six hours, the most extreme concentration of lightning ever detected. The volcanic plume produced the highest-altitude lightning flashes ever measured, at some 12 to 19 miles above sea level. The eruption triggered a supercharged thunderstorm, the likes of which we’ve never seen, and created more extreme lightning than any other kind of storm on Earth.