INTERACTIVE: KLIA, Subang, Melaka top lightning list

PETALING JAYA: Weather stations at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Subang and Melaka recorded the highest numbers of lightning days in Malaysia over the past decade.

Data from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) show that the KLIA weather station recorded more than 300 days with lightning each year from 2015 to 2024 - the highest among 14 stations nationwide.

According to MetMalaysia director general Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip, the lightning that is recorded may originate from storms more than 10km away from an observation station.

This means that storm systems in nearby areas can also contribute to a station’s lightning totals.

Lightning occurrences at weather stations are recorded through direct visual observation by trained weather officers, and any visible lightning is counted as a lightning day.

Subang ranked second after KLIA each year from 2015 to 2024 but rose to first place last year with 294 lightning days.

Melaka, which averaged 252 lightning days each year over the past decade, ranked third overall.

 

Hisham said the differences between the number of lightning days recorded at various locations is largely driven by geographical factors rather than surrounding infrastructure or airport operations, such as in the case of KLIA.

Citing an example, he explained that KLIA’s location nearer to the coast increases the likelihood of more frequent lightning occurrences compared with Subang.

In 2023, MetMalaysia introduced the Lightning Detection and Alert System at KLIA to enable real-time monitoring of thunderstorm and lightning activity within the airport’s airspace and surrounding areas.

"The system provides early warnings and continuous weather updates to airport authorities and airline operators, allowing operations to be adjusted when necessary while ensuring passenger safety," he said.

Dr Mohd Hisham stressed that aviation weather services at KLIA comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and are subject to regular audits.

Monitoring, forecasting and dissemination of aviation weather information are carried out in accordance with ICAO Annex 3 (Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation), ensuring that Malaysia’s main gateway meets international safety requirements.

Experts say the consistently high lightning counts recorded at Malaysian stations are not unusual, given that the country is widely recognised as one of the most lightning-prone regions in the world due to its equatorial location and regional geography.

Universiti Malaya meteorologist Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah said the Maritime Continent (MC), which includes Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, is considered the most active lightning hotspot globally.

“We have lots of thunderstorms, so our area is very prone to lightning strikes. Satellite climatology and ground-based networks consistently show this region as among the most active in the world,” he said.

He said the region’s maze of islands, narrow seas and complex coastlines creates strong daily land–sea breeze circulations and repeated storm triggering.

He added that the MC sits over the Indo-Pacific warm pool, that leads to high evaporation of water and helps in developing highly electrified thunderstorm clouds.

Dr Chung Jing Xiang, a senior lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu’s Faculty of Marine Sciences and Environment, said the country’s position near the equator also places it within the rising branch of the Hadley cell circulation, where upward-moving warm, moist air favours thunderstorm formation.

“When air is warm and moist, it becomes more buoyant and rises more easily.

“Rising air and moisture are the key ingredients for thunderstorm clouds to form, which increases lightning potential in equatorial regions like ours,” he said.