Leveraging INSAT‐3D Indian Geostationary Satellite for Advanced Lightning Detection and Analysis

Abstract Atmospheric lightning is an outcome of interplay among the meteorological parameters under the influence of convective processes occurring in troposphere. Radiation, temperature, and wind are the prime driving parameters of the convective phenomena. Often, the reanalysis data has been utilized to understand the precursors of lightning occurrences. As the lightning is a disaster where nowcasting is important, for operational utilization, it is deemed to utilize space‐borne near real‐time measurements. The present study investigates the utilization of near real‐time Indian remote sensing geostationary satellite (viz., INSAT) products (outgoing longwave radiation, land surface temperature, and winds) to identify the precursory signatures of the lightning occurrences. Results reveal that a lead‐time of about 2.5 hr can be achieved with agreement ranging from 0.6 to 0.8. The study provides first step into the prediction of the lightning occurrences over India using the Indian remote sensing geostationary satellite.