Every second of every day, all over the world, there 100 are more than lightning bolts. That's about ten million lightning bolts in one day! amazes us but it can also frighten us. We have good reason to be afraid of lightning Every year, about 100 people in the United es and Canada die from lightning, and another 300 are injured. It s strange that of all the people who die from lightning, 84 percent are men. Lightning is the main cause of forest fires: it starts more t 9,000 fires each year. ghtning is electricity inside a cloud. Scientists d not know exa what makes this electricity. But they know that the electricity inside a doud can be as much as 100 million volts. From this extremely strong electricity, a lightning bolt, like a streak of bright light, comes down from the sky. Its temperature can reach 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit within a few millionths of a second. That's almost five times the temperature on the sun's surface. The lightning bolt is very quick. It can move at a speed of 87,000 miles per second. A rocket traveling at this speed would reach the moon in 2.5 seconds. With the lightning bolt, we usually hear thunder, which is the sound of hot air exploding Lightning and thunder happen at exactly the same time, but we see lightning first because light travels a million times faster than sound. Lightning often strikes tall buildings. However, many buildings have lightning rods to protect them from lightning. When lightning strikes, the electricity goes safely down the metal rod to the ground Benjamin Franklin, the American statesman, invented the lightning rod in 1760. That is why buildings like the Empire State Building in Ne ork City are safe. Lightning may hit this building as many as twelve times in twenty minutes and as often as 500 times a year. Airplanes are not as to protect as buildings, and accidents do happen. In 1963 easy a Boeing 707 jet was hit by lightning and crashed. Eighty-one people died. coming, here are some things you If you see thunder and lightning can yourself. Go inside a house, get into a car, or go under do to protect a bridge. If you cannot find shelter, go to the lowest point on the