Spatiotemporal characteristics of lightning and prediction based on suitable thermodynamic indices over India

Abstract Lightning causes heavy casualties in India. Spatiotemporal variations in lightning activity over the country have been delineated, and the predictive capabilities of eight thermodynamic indices have been evaluated using skill scores. Thermodynamic indices and ground‐based lightning observations across 21 meteorological stations for the period 2019–2024 have been utilised. The maximum number of lightning days (lightning strikes) was observed in the northeast and southern (eastern and central) regions. The monsoon season recorded the maximum lightning activity, followed by the pre‐monsoon, post‐monsoon and winter. High predictive skill was observed for the indices SWEAT, SHOW, LI, KI, CTI and TTI at more than 14 stations.