By Joe Pinkstone For Mailonline
Published: 15:27 GMT, 9 January 2019 | Updated: 17:25 GMT, 11 January 2019
115 shares
7
View
comments
Stunning footage has revealed the moment a huge fork of lightning is seen rising from the top of a tower block and into the clouds.
The unusual phenomena was seen by scientists using a high speed camera at the National Institute of Space Research (INPE) in São Paulo.
It is artificially triggered as a result of environmental changes caused by human activity, experts said.
Stunning footage has revealed the moment a huge fork of lightning is seen rising from the top of a tower block and into the clouds (pictured)
The powerful electrical discharge traced a jagged path across the dark sky.
A thunderstorm surrounded the small town near the mountain of Pico do Jaraguá.
Marcelo Saba who helped take the images said: 'Most of the lightning – 99 per cent, originates in the clouds and hits the ground.
'Only one per cent, known as ascending rays go upward, from the surface to the sky.
'These atmospheric discharges arise mainly from high rise structures, such as telecommunication towers, wind turbines, lightning rods or skyscrapers.'
An intense electric field is needed at the top of a high structure in order for an ascending ray to spark.
Positively charged current from the elevated surface is then attracted to the large amount of negative charge concentrated at the base of the overhead clouds.
This attraction then triggers a discharge and a huge spark upwards into the clouds.
Scientists used a high tech camera capable of recording 4,000 frames per second to capture the fascinating formation.
Mr Saba said: 'The camera was
