What is the purpose of lightning? Scientists have shed some more light on the answer with the results of a recently released study.

The new study published in Science found that lightning may play a bigger role in global climate change than was previously known by the scientific community. “Lightning increases the atmosphere’s ability to cleanse itself,” the researchers wrote in the study.

Many are familiar with the potentially deadly hazards posed by lightning. Although the odds of being struck are quite low — 1 in 1,222,000 in a given year and 1 in 15,300 in a lifetime — many in the weather community have long urged people to take proper precautions to stay safe amid storms, which can frequently trigger lightning. The earth is struck by lightning nearly 20 million times each year, and bolts of lightning can travel as much as 16 to 19 kilometers from a thunderstorm, instantly heating the air to 27,760 degrees Celsius, according to the U.S. National Weather Service.

The study, which included contributions from nine atmospheric researchers across a dozen universities and meteorological agencies, was based on an airborne research flight conducted by a NASA DC-8 storm-chasing plane in 2012. The plane was used to examine the top portion of thunderstorm clouds, which are known as anvils.

According to William Brune, a professor of meteorology and atmospheric sciences at Pennsylvania State University and co-author of the study, researchers initially thought there was a problem with the equipment on the plane, which was being used to measure the hydroxyl radicals (OH) in the atmosphere until they realized spikes they observed corresponded with lightning flashes, ABC News reported.

Hydroxyl radicals, described as a “chemical scavenger,” are important chemical compounds found in the atmosphere due to the reactive nature with other organic molecules.

Researchers previously understood that lightning could help to clean the atmosphere, but there was no evidence that it could generate compounds like these radicals.

The study estimates that somewhere between 2 percent and 16 percent of the oxidizing, or cleaning that happens naturally in the earth’s atmosphere, is done by lightning.

Why is this significant? The oxidation process helps to reduce chemicals like carbon monoxide and methane in the atmosphere. These chemicals have been proven to contribute to rising temperatures associated with climate change.