Electrical storms produced by a unique meteorological phenomenon have lit up nights in this corner of Venezuela for thousands of years.
Francis Drake abandoned a sneak attack on the city of Maracaibo in 1595 when lightning betrayed his ships to the Spanish garrison.
But now the lightning has vanished.
A phenomenon that once unleashed up to 20,000 bolts a night stopped in late January.
Not a single bolt has been seen since.
"This is unprecedented. In recorded history we have not had such a long stretch without lightning," said Erik Quiroga, an environmentalist and leading authority on the Relampago de Catatumbo, or Catatumbo Lightning.
Francis Drake abandoned a sneak attack on the city of Maracaibo in 1595 when lightning betrayed his ships to the Spanish garrison.
But now the lightning has vanished.
A phenomenon that once unleashed up to 20,000 bolts a night stopped in late January.
Not a single bolt has been seen since.
"This is unprecedented. In recorded history we have not had such a long stretch without lightning," said Erik Quiroga, an environmentalist and leading authority on the Relampago de Catatumbo, or Catatumbo Lightning.
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