The weather forecaster estimated the chance of meeting with a fireball in the summer

In summer, the likelihood of fireballs increases, but it is almost impossible to encounter this rare phenomenon. Marina Makarova, a leading employee of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, told about this on May 28.

"This summer phenomenon occurs when there are a lot of thunderstorms. And the theoretical probability of meeting increases. But it increases from zero to 0.01%," she told TASS.

According to her, the phenomenon is very rare and poorly studied — the statistics of meetings are too low. Scientists have tried to reproduce ball lightning in the laboratory, but their efforts have not been successful. It is well known that such lightning occurs in thunderstorms with high electric field strength.

The specialist noted that thunderstorms occur during the warmer months, so the occurrence of ball lightning is most likely in the summer and primarily outside the city. At the same time, the danger posed by ball lightning is undeniable: the scientist who first began to describe them died from such lightning, and other people have repeatedly found damage from them in their country houses.

Portal New-Science.ru On May 11, he reported that climate scientists admit that the Earth may face the most powerful El Nino phenomenon of the 21st century in the coming months. It is noted that this phenomenon usually leads to an increase in temperatures in Australia, Africa, India and some areas of Latin America.

Vladimir Bychkov, a leading researcher at the Moscow State University Faculty of Physics, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Ball Lightning Council, said in 2024 that ball lightning may appear in the Moscow region due to frequent thunderstorms. In Russia, about 10-15 cases of ball lightning are recorded every summer, in Moscow — two or three cases.