Kifuka, Africa's Lightning Capital
In the mountains of eastern Congo, one small village has some of the most lightning anywhere on Earth.
What was reported
Kifuka is a village in the mountains of South Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Satellite measurements show that the area around it has one of the highest rates of lightning on Earth, with an average of about 158 flashes per square kilometre every year.
Thunderstorms build up there on most days of the year, especially from October to March.
Explanations offered
Scientists explain it by geography: warm, moist air from the Atlantic travels across the Congo rainforest, and when it meets the cooler air of the eastern mountains it rises quickly and forms powerful thunderstorms. Kifuka was once ranked first in the world, but Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela now holds that title.
- When
- Every year
- Where
- Kifuka, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Witnesses
- Villagers and satellites
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.