Video captured the moment the rare, terrifying weather phenomenon of volcanic lightning was triggered by an erupting volcano in the Philippines
Sahar Esfandiari

A still capturing the rare moment lightning struck the pummel 

of ash rising from the volcano. YouTube/Weather Events

Video footage captures the moment a rare occurrence known as volcanic lighting hits the sky following a volcanic eruption in the Philippines.
Volcanic lighting is caused as a result of electrical discharge released from a volcanic eruption.
There were no immediate injuries from the eruption, but 450,000 people are said to be based in the 14 km danger zone surrounding the volcano.

Video footage captures the moment a rare occurrence called "volcanic lighting" occurred in the Philippines.

As can be seen in the video below, volcanic smoke and ash are erupting from the volcano as lightning strikes the sky.

The smoke appears to make the lightning more visible and pronounced to onlookers, who are heard screaming in the background at the terrifying scene.

A closeup of the footage seen below was re-posted by meteorological institution MetSul on Twitter.
—MetSul.com (@metsul) January 12, 2020

Volcanic lighting is a rare natural phenomenon believed to be caused by ash particles rubbing together in volcanic clouds, creating friction and static electricity.

The Taal volcano began spewing lava on Monday morning local time.

A day prior, the volcano emitted a huge plume of ash across the surrounding area, and put an estimated 450,000 people at risk, according to the UN OCHA office in the Philippines.

The ash covered the area in a blanket of volcanic dust, and as of 6.a.m Monday local time 7,700 people had been evacuated by authorities.

The volcano is one of the world's smallest in size, but has recorded 34 eruptions over the last 450 years, according to the BBC.