Global Climate

Abstract

Caption: Lightning discharges appear in various colours depending on the scatter of light inside the thundercloud and in the atmosphere. The intracloud lightning discharges in the centre of the thundercloud appear to be white with a bluish tint, and the cloud-to-ground discharge below appears to be orange. The right hand side of the thundercloud exhibits a green tint that is attributed to the unique composition of hydrometeors inside the thundercloud.