Scientists at the World Meteorological Organisation have managed to measure the world’s longest lightning bolt, and the longest-lasting.

The longest lightning ever bolt measured 199.5 miles when it struck over the US state of Oklahoma in June 2007.

The distance is the equivalent of around three-quarters of the state’s length, or from London to Brussels as the crow flies.

The longest lasting flash of lightning was over Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in south-east France.

The bolt struck in August 2012 and lasted 7.74 seconds.

To put this in perspective, the average flash of lightning lasts 0.2 seconds, according to the Weather Channel.

[Related story: Woman survives lightning strike on hottest September day for 100 years]

The records were confirmed by the WMO’s weather and climate extremes committee and published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

The WMO’s Randall Cerveny, Chief Rapporteur of Climate and Weather Extremes for the WMO said: “The end result reinforces critical safety information regarding lightning, specifically that lightning flashes can travel huge distances from their parent thunderstorms.

“Our experts’ best advice: when thunder roars, go indoors.”