Scientists at the University of Maryland have, for the first time, tracked how lightning affects air quality in real time using NASA’s TEMPO satellite. By capturing high-frequency measurements every 10 minutes, researchers observed how thunderstorms generate nitrogen oxides, pollutants also found in car exhausts that fuel ozone formation high in the atmosphere. While human activity remains the dominant source of these gases, lightning plays a key role at higher altitudes, where its impact on warming and air quality can be greater. The study also revealed lightning’s dual role: not only creating ozone-forming pollution but also triggering hydroxyl radicals that help cleanse the atmosphere of harmful gases like methane. The findings could sharpen climate models, improve air quality forecasts, and explain how storm-driven pollution travels long distances, sometimes affecting communities far from the original storm. Researchers say the results may become critical as extreme weather events and lightning intensity grow in a warming climate. @FutureTech | #FutureTech 🔌