Temporal Distribution of Thunderstorm Activity in Southern Region of Peninsular Malaysia

An eight-year (2011–2018) study of thunderstorm activity in the southern region of Peninsular Malaysia is presented based on the lightning data obtained from the Lightning Detection Network System (LDNS) operated by TNB-Research (TNBR). This study aims to enhance regional knowledge and analyse the temporal variation of thunderstorm activity in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The main findings of this study indicated an increasing pattern of thunderstorm activity within the 8-year period of observation, and the mean annual rate was approximately 163,426 per year. About 13.2% of total CG lightning was +CG lightning, while 86.8% was dominated by -CG lightning. Even though more than 93% of annual lightning was dominated by −CG lightning, the yearly observations revealed that the number of +CG lightning has increased over the years. Therefore, further research and consideration of the −CG and +CG lightning activity is essential in this region in order to enhance and improve the current lightning protection system and predict the lightning and thunderstorm activity, particularly for directly and indirectly affected sectors and industries.