A recent study published in the journal Science claims that lightening strikes will increase by almost 50% by the end of the century.

Lead author David Romps, a University of California climate scientist, said that nearly 30 million lightening strikes per year currently take place in the United States. He predicts that by the end of 2100, these lightening strikes will reach 45-million figure per year.

He clearly stated that the major cause behind increase in the strike is none other than the warming temperature that is associated with the climate change.

Researchers predicted that increased lightening strikes will lead to more deaths and injuries.

As per the study, hundreds of people are struck by lightening every year in the USA. The National Weather Service reported that almost 50 people die every year due to these strikes.

They also said that the number could easily rise as the 20 million strikes that the country receives each year have increased to 30 million now.

Romps said that the additional strikes can even increase the numbers of wildfires in the country. It has been previously known that half of the US wildfires are caused by lightening strikes. They said that it is very difficult to stop these wildfires.

Researchers said that increase in the number of lightening is associated with water vapor, which acts as a fuel for explosive deep convection in the atmosphere.

Romps said, "Warming causes there to be more water vapor in the atmosphere, and if you have more fuel (water vapor) lying around, when you get ignition, it can go big time".

During the study, Romps analyzed the US lightning strikes data of 2011 and found that the combination of additional precipitation and more buoyant clouds in the coming decades will lead to more frequent lightning.

Weather service meteorologist and lightning expert John Jensenius agreed with Romps viewpoint, saying that lightning strikes will increase in future. But he is not sure about the link between the temperature rise and strikes.