8035_doi_deposit 20210929090000 assa nadiag@assaf.org.za assa South African Journal of Science S. Afr. J. Sci 1996-7489 09292021 117 9/10 Bathobile Maseko South African Weather Service, Pretoria, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8089-3966 Gregor Feig South African Environmental Observation Network, Pretoria, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4359-4588 Roelof Burger Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4359-4588 Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) are toxic air pollutants and play a significant role in tropospheric chemistry. Global NOx hotspots are the industrialised regions of the USA, Europe, Middle East, East Asia and eastern parts of South Africa. Lightning is one of the many natural and anthropogenic sources of NOx to the troposphere. It plays a role in the formation of particulate matter and tropospheric ozone, which are both linked to harmful health and climate effects. The discourse on NOx over the southern African continent has mainly focused on anthropogenic sources. However, lightning is known to be a main source of tropospheric NOx globally. It is therefore important to understand its contribution to the national and global NOx budget. Data from the South African Lightning Detection Network were used to approximate the influence of lightning on the NOx load over the country, and to develop a gridded data set of lightning-produced NOx (LNOx) emissions for the period 2008 2015. The Network monitors cloud-toground lightning strikes; and theoretically has a detection efficiency of 90% and a location accuracy of 0.5 km. An emission factor of 11.5 kg NO2/flash was employed to calculate the LNOx budget of ~270 kt NO2/year. The calculated LNOx was 14% of the total NOx emission estimates published in the EDGAR v4.2 data set for the year 2008. The LNOx emission inventory will improve model performance and prediction, and enhance the understanding of the contribution of lightning to ambient NO2. 09292021 1 10.17159/sajs.2016/crossmark sajs.co.za false 2020-03-06 2021-03-29 2021-09-29 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 10.17159/sajs.2021/8035 20210929090000 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/8035 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/8035/17423 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/8035/17423 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/8035/17423 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/8035/17423 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/8035/17423 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/8035/17423 https://sajs.co.za/article/view/8035/17423