Latitudinal variations of cloud base height and lightning parameters in the tropics

The observed reduction in cloud-to-ground lightning in the near-equatorial zone is examined from the perspective of the width of the main negative charge region. Thermodynamic observations of cloud base height also show a climatological minimum value in the near-equatorial region. The association of low cloud bases with both narrow updrafts and narrow charging zones may impede the bridging of the large air gap to ground, and thereby suppress cloud-to-ground lightning activity. This width dependence may be more important than the ∼ 10% variation in height of the freezing level in encouraging flashes to ground.