Lightning Is Hotter Than the Surface of the Sun

A lightning channel can reach about 30,000 kelvin, roughly five times hotter than the Sun’s surface.

The Sun’s visible surface sits near 5,800 kelvin. A lightning strike heats the air around it so violently that the air expands faster than sound, and that shock wave is what we hear as thunder.

Check it yourself

The US National Weather Service explains this on its lightning science pages. Compare its figure with NASA’s value for the Sun.