Although the concentration of the ozone in the ozone layer is very small, it is vitally important to life because it absorbs biologically harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation coming from the sun. Extremely short or vacuum UV (10â100 nm) is screened out by nitrogen.
Lightning strikes reach the ground on Earth as much as 8 million times per day or 100 times per second, according to the National Severe Storms Laboratory. Out of all the lightning strikes in the world, the United States accounts for about 20 million of the total number of lightning strikes each year. Continue Reading.
It is estimated that Earth as a whole is struck by an average of more than a hundred lightning bolts every second. â¢ The odds of becoming a lightning victim in the U.S. in any one year is 1 in 700,000. The odds of being struck in your lifetime is 1 in 3,000. â¢ Lightning can kill people (3,696 deaths were recorded in the U.S. between 1959 and 2003) or cause cardiac arrest.