The Hunga Tonga eruption sparked the highest-altitude lightning ever recorded
The plume from the 2022 eruption generated flashes up to 30 kilometers above sea level
![A satellite image of the Hunga Tonga volcano when it erupted in 2022 with a large circle of smoke visible in the middle of blue water and other clouds.](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/062023_sw_highest-lightning_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
The 2022 Hunga Tonga volcano eruption (shown in this image taken by a Japanese weather satellite) has added another superlative to its growing list of impressive stats: highest-altitude lightning flashes ever seen.
Japan Meteorology Agency via AP