The National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience deployed a lightning mapping array (LMA) in the Tokyo metropolitan area in March 2017. Called the “Tokyo LMA,” it obtains detailed three-dimensional observations of the total lightning activity (cloud-to-ground and intracloud flashes) in storms. The network initially consisted of 8 receiving stations, expanded to 12 stations in March 2018. Real-time total lightning images were first opened on the webpage in Japan. Real-time observations from the Tokyo LMA will be used in nowcasting lightning hazards and mitigating lightning disasters. Archived data will be used to develop lightning prediction techniques and a lightning climatology for the Tokyo metropolitan area.

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