The correlation between anthropogenic aerosol pollution and lightning activity has been known for some time, although the mechanism connecting the two has not been identified yet. The lockdowns enacted to contain the COVID-19 pandemic were an unprecedented opportunity to further explore this relationship.
Lightning rods must undergo periodic inspections and maintenance, as indicated by national and international regulations (UNE21186, NF-C 17 102, IEC EN 62305). These periodic inspections of the lightning rod allow the detection of deviations from the reference standards or anomalies in the installation caused by environmental conditions such as corrosion, incorrect handlings such as sectioning or robberies, or other circumstances such as expansions of the building where the lightning rod is located.
A total of de 2.409.799.364 lightning strikes were recorded worldwide in 2021. This number includes cloud-to-cloud lightning and cloud-to-ground discharges. The country with the most lightning strikes was Brazil, with 225,607,575 strikes, while the country with the highest lightning density was Singapore, with 163.08 strikes per Km2.
Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for guarantees that any equipment or tool is tested in accordance with the regulations to ensure its correct operation. Lightning is a phenomenon capable of causing great personal and material damage, but it is not possible to anticipate exactly when and where lightning will strike. However, it is vital that the systems designed to protect against the effects of lightning operate correctly and in accordance with current regulations. Aplicaciones Tecnológicas has the AT Research Center, one of the best-equipped laboratories in the world for testing Lightning Protection Systems (LPS), where the most demanding tests are carried out to measure the reliability of all its components.
