Abstract:
Using the cloud to ground lightning data from 2009 to 2012 probed by ADTD Lightning Location Monitoring System, we analyze the spatio temporal distribution characteristics of flashes. The results show that: the negative lightning flashes are over 94% of the total, but the positive lightning accounts for about 5%. Lightning is prone to occur from May to September, most frequently seen in July and August, which is correspondent to rainfall belts. With the advance of monsoons, lightning flashes gradually increase from south to north and from east to west. Summer has lightnings the most, followed by spring and autumn, and in winter almost none. The diurnal distributions of lightnings show the single peak characteristic, and most of them occur in 16:00-17:00 BT, corresponding to the time periods of severe convective weather events. The overall distribution of lightning is that there are more in Eastern coast and the South than in western inland and the North. The lightning density distribution has obvious regional differences. The central and eastern regions, South China and the Sichuan Basin are the high lightning density area. The daytime lightning mainly occurs in the coastal areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong while the night lightning usually appears in inland areas of Yunnan, Sichuan and Chongqing. The lightning in the afternoon (14:00-20:00 BT) is most active, but less active from 08:00 to 14:00 BT. The lightning high value areas in different regions appear in different months. The high lightning value of South China is in June, Sichuan Basin in July and the central and eastern parts in August. Spring lightning of southern China is most active, which is closely related to the pre rainy season in the region. The positive and negative lightning intensity is mainly concentrated in the 10 to 40 kA. The positive and negative ground lightning intensities with cumulative probability of more than 60% are less than 60 kA, 35 kA respectively. The positive and negative lightning intensities with cumulative probability of more than 90% are less than 140 kA, 65 kA respectively. Lightning intensity low value areas mainly distribute in negative lightnings while the high value areas often appear in positive lightnings.