Overview

• Through August 8 Nowcast has logged 563,000 lightning discharges, placing 2025 on track to undercut the previous low of 813,000 recorded in 2020.
• From June 1 to July 31 Germany recorded 394,000 total discharges, about 60% below the 15-year average and the smallest two-month tally since at least 2009.
• Monthly counts fell far short of norms with May at 118,000 discharges (−45%), June at 212,000 (−61%) and July at 182,000 (−63%) compared with the 15-year mean.
• Bavaria led the federal states with 108,900 strikes in June and July, while independent service Aldis/Blids registered just 23,986 ground strikes nationwide in July versus 41,129 a year earlier.
• Meteorologist Nikolas Zimmermann of UBIMET attributes the lightning drought to a stationary low-pressure system over Scandinavia that has prevented high-pressure ridges and large-scale thunderstorm formation.