Alarming numbers: 210 deaths and injuries from lightning strikes in Yemen in one year, and fears of more severe weather disturbances in the coming years.

Arab Weather - With each passing summer season in Yemen, violent weather phenomena increase in frequency and intensity, most notably thunderstorms, which have become a prominent feature of the afternoon weather in many governorates, especially mountainous ones. What are the scientific reasons for the prevalence of this phenomenon? And why is Yemen one of the regions of the Arabian Peninsula most affected by it?

First: What is a thunderbolt scientifically?

Lightning is a rapid and powerful electrical discharge resulting from an electrical imbalance within cumulus clouds, or between them and the Earth's surface.
Cumulus clouds store an electric charge as a result of friction between water droplets, hail, and ice crystals within the rising and falling air currents. When the potential difference becomes large enough, a discharge occurs in the form of lightning.

Why Yemen specifically?

Yemen has geoclimatic factors that make lightning more frequent than in neighboring countries, the most prominent of which are:

Mountainous terrain:
It leads to the strengthening of upward air currents, which is a prerequisite for the formation of cumulonimbus clouds.

Tropical humidity coming from the Arabian Sea:
It feeds the atmosphere with water vapor, which increases the atmospheric potential energy (CAPE), a direct factor in strengthening thunderstorms.

The large temperature difference between the Earth's surface and the upper layers of the atmosphere:
It creates atmospheric instability, which is an ideal environment for lightning, thunder, and thunderbolts.

Real statistics support this activity:

In the summer of 2024, more than 210 deaths and injuries were recorded due to lightning strikes, most of them in governorates such as Amran, Al Mahwit, Ibb, and Saada. Some mountainous areas in Yemen even record hundreds of lightning strikes daily during the peak of the rainy season, particularly in July and August.

The role of climate change:

There is a direct relationship between increased thunderstorm activity and global warming. Higher temperatures lead to greater evaporation, which means greater availability of moisture and, consequently, an increased likelihood of thunderstorms.
Satellite imagery and weather models show that the frequency of cumulus clouds in Yemen has increased over the past decade, consistent with the hypothesis that extreme weather events are accelerating under climate change.

Scientific recommendations:

• Lightning early warning systems should be enhanced with weather radars and lightning detection systems.
• Raising community awareness of the dangers of being in open or elevated areas during storms.
• It is important to use lightning intensity maps to identify high-risk areas.

Lightning strikes in Yemen are no longer a rare or seasonal phenomenon. They have become a sensitive climate indicator of ongoing changes in the region's atmosphere. Scientifically understanding this phenomenon is the first step toward reducing its damage and protecting lives.