  Thunderstorms and the lightning that they produce are inherently interesting
phenomena that have intrigued scientists and mankind in general for many years.
The study of thunderstorms has rapidly advanced during the past century and
many efforts have been made towards understanding lightning, thunderstorms and
their consequences. Recent observations of optical phenomena above an active
lightning discharge along with the availability of modern technology both for
data collection and data analysis have renewed interest in the field of
thunderstorms and their consequences in the biosphere. In this paper, we review
the electrification processes of a thunderstorm, lightning processes and their
association with global electric circuit and climate. The upward lightning
discharge can cause sprites, elves, jets, etc. which are together called
transient luminous events. Their morphological features and effects in the
mesosphere are reviewed. The wide spectrum of electromagnetic waves generated
during lightning discharges couple the lower atmosphere with the
ionosphere/magnetosphere. Hence various features of these waves from ULF to VHF
are reviewed with reference to recent results and their consequences are also
briefly discussed.
