At any moment, about 2 000 thunderstorms occur worldwide, producing about 100 lightning strikes each second or 8 million strikes each day. Excluding incidental catastrophes and disasters, lightning causes more deaths than any other natural event or phenomenon, 1 claiming about 24 000 lives each year. It is also estimated that some 240 000 people a year will survive a lightning strike. Lightning poses a risk to people, animals, plants and industrial systems. Its damaging characteristics are primarily due to the immense electrical potential differences and currents that are generated.3 Global climate change may also affect lightning patterns and intensity; some studies indicate that global warming will increase overall lightning activity. C Price, in a paper presented at the 29th Symposium on Lightning Protection held in Uppsala, Sweden, in June 2008, suggested that atmospheric electrical activity could be used as a global 'thermometer' . The possibility of harnessing the energy derived from lightning activity remains an elusive but interesting driver of research in this field.Lightning is a complex phenomenon; understanding its effects on humans, animals and plants, and on the built environment, requires knowledge and expertise involving several disciplines, including climatology, engineering and medicine. To make substantial progress in our understanding of the effects of lightning, a more integrated and multidisciplinary research approach is essential.Certain areas of Southern Africa have a particularly high incidence of lightning and thunderstorm activity. Early maps of lightning ground flash density (Ng) in South Africa were based on data obtained for the period 1975 -1986. Owing to the nature of the measurement systems, it was not possible to determine the number of strokes per flash.More The higher Ng values in South Africa happen to coincide with the distribution of its population, with more ground flashes taking place on the Highveld and Escarpment, where there is a higher population density (Fig. 1).South Africa has had a rich tradition of lightning-related research, with Schonland, Malan, Anderson, Eriksson, Proctor and Geldenhuys having been internationally acknowledged in this field. While early work can be traced back to the 1920s, when the first electric field measurements were made, the work of Schonland and Malan (also considered to be the founding members of the CSIR) perhaps was of most value in the early years. The CSIR has maintained its lightning research activities, and from the 1960s has actively participated in the development and testing of lightning detection equipment through the National Electrical Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Pretoria, and in collaboration with Cigré (International Council on Large Electric Systems). Lightning medicine in South AfricaRyan Blumenthal, Estelle Trengrove, Ian R Jandrell, Gert Saayman South Africa has a rich history of lightning research; however, research on the clinical and pathological effects and features of lightning-related injury (kera...