How Benjamin Franklin's Ideas Help Scientists Study Climate Change Today

Benjamin Franklin lived in Philadelphia more than 250 years ago, but his ideas are still helping scientists today. Franklin is famous for flying a kite in a thunderstorm to study lightning. Now, researchers say his early weather records and inventions are key tools for understanding how Earth's climate is changing.

One of Franklin's most important inventions sits inside the Franklin Institute museum in Philadelphia. The museum holds the first known lightning rod, which Franklin built in 1749. Susannah Carroll, the museum's director of collections, called it 'probably the most monumental, arguably, invention of Benjamin Franklin.' She noted the rod was so effective that it was bent twice by actual lightning strikes. Franklin created the lightning rod to stop buildings from catching fire, a cause he cared deeply about since he also co-founded America's first volunteer fire company.

Today, lightning rods are used on tall buildings all over the world. You can even spot one on the famous spire of One Liberty Place, a skyscraper in downtown Philadelphia. Franklin's simple idea has protected millions of buildings for centuries. His invention shows how solving one problem can have a lasting impact on the world.

Franklin also kept detailed notes about the weather, and Carroll says that habit helped shape modern weather forecasting. CBS Philadelphia meteorologist Grant Gilmore explained that those early records give scientists a long history to compare with today's data. 'It was our Founding Fathers who started those initial note-taking and weather observations for what we can look back on,' Gilmore said. He added that temperatures in 2026 are about 5 to 7 degrees warmer than they were in 1776. That difference is a strong signal that the climate is changing in serious ways.

Scientists say those rising temperatures are causing more dangerous weather events. Jen Brady, a senior analyst at the science nonprofit Climate Central, studies these patterns closely. 'We've seen a large increase in the number of severe storms, which includes hailstorms, lightning storms, and thunderstorms,' she said. Brady also noted that early research suggests climate change could cause even more lightning strikes in the future. These findings make Franklin's original work on lightning more relevant than ever.

Carroll believes Franklin would have been very interested in the climate crisis if he were alive today. She says he spent his life trying to find solutions to big problems that affected all of humanity. 'He was trying to make the world a better place,' Carroll said. His curiosity and willingness to experiment are qualities that modern scientists still look up to. In many ways, the work Franklin started centuries ago is still being carried forward by researchers around the world.