An amazing map revealed by Nasa has shown where lightning occurs most on Earth . The map reveals average yearly counts of lightning flashes per square kilometre from 1995 to 2013 . And the results show that the highest amounts of lightning flashes occur in the far eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Lake Maracaibo in northwestern Venezuela . Scroll down for video . The map above shows the average yearly counts of lightning flashes per square kilometer from 1995 to 2013 . Areas with the fewest number of flashes each year are grey and purple ; areas with the largest number of lightning flashes - as many as 150 per year per square kilometer ( 0.4 square miles ) - are bright pink . The Democratic Republic of Congo was found to have the most over the period . The map was created using data from Nasa ’ s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite , and the Orbview-1/Microlab satellite . In the map , the areas with the largest number of flashes - up to 150 per year per square kilometre ( 0.4 square miles ) - are shown in bright pink . The areas with the least are grey and purple . According to the satellite observations , lightning occurs more often over land than it does over oceans . And it also seems to happen more often closer to the equator . The higher frequency over land is because solid earth absorbs sunlight and heats up faster than water , so there is greater atmospheric instability - leading to the formation of storms . And Nasa ’ s Dr Daniel Cecil , a member of the Global Hydrology and Climate Centre ’ s lightning team , said the data also shows interesting trends . According to the satellite observations , lightning occurs more often over land than it does over oceans . Shown here is a passing storm over the African countryside with forked lightning on 10 October 2013 . The higher frequency over land is because solid earth absorbs sunlight and heats up faster than water , so there is greater atmospheric instability - leading to the formation of storms . Shown is a storm hitting the city of Tripoli in Libya . Researchers have found that regardless of where you are in the world , lightning bolts are at their most powerful at 8am . This is because there are fewer particles in the atmosphere overnight , so it takes a more powerful charge to overcome the extra distance between these particles and release the bolt of power . For example , a large number of flashes were seen during the month of May in the Brahmaputra Valley of far eastern India . The heating and weather patterns are unstable and changeable at that time-just before the onset of the monsoon , which brings plenty of rain but much less lightning . In contrast , locations in Central Africa and Northwestern South America have large amounts of lightning throughout the entire year . Dr Cecil noted that more years of data has not necessarily brought notable big-picture differences when compared to earlier maps . ‘ The longer record allows us to more confidently identify some of these finer details , ' he said . 'We can examine seasonality , and variability through the day and year-to-year. ’ This comparable Nasa map shows global lightning strikes from January 1998 to 2013 from the NASA/MSFC Lightning Imaging Sensor .
A NASA map has revealed which parts of the world experience the most flashes of lightning ever year . Democratic Republic of Congo and Lake Maracaibo in northwestern Venezuela experienced the most . According to the satellite observations , lightning occurs more often over land than it does over oceans . And lightning also seems to happen more often closer to the equator , owing to the hotter temperatures .