Lightning can ‘X-Ray’ the earth, new study Shows urban seismology in action

New Delhi: When lightning strikes, it superheats the air around it and creates a shock wave that we hear as thunder. But that energy does not just travel through the atmosphere.

When it reaches the ground, some of it is converted into seismic waves that ripple through soil and rock. The resulting vibrations are known as thunderquakes.

A new study shows how these thunderquakes can be used to X-ray the earth, in a striking example of urban seismology in action, researchers Nolan Roth and Tieyuan Zhu have noted.

The research highlights how everyday lightning events, like the one that illuminated the night sky over Visakhapatnam after an evening shower on August 10, 2026, can be tracked as seismic signals, offering a new way to study the shallow subsurface without expensive equipment.