Science shatters myth

Lightening never strikes in the same place twice, says a popular myth. But the scientists believe otherwise. They say lightening strikes actually depend on vegetation. D Dissing and David Verbyla, forestry experts at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, USA, recorded the patterns and intensities of lightening in Alaska between 1986 and 1997. They compared the data with a map of Alaska's major vegetation zones -- boreal forests, tundra and scrubland. The greatest strikes occurred over boreal forests. Lightening may favour boreal forests as air temperatures above them are higher.