Lightning is one of the major threats to multi-megawatt wind turbines and a concern for new generation of aircraft. That is because the use of lightweight of some composite materials. Both wind turbines and aircraft can initiate lightning and very favourable conditions for lightning initiation occur in winter thunderstorms. Moreover, winter thunderstorms are characterized for producing very energetic lightning. The paper reviews the different type of lightning interactions and summarizes the well-known winter thunderstorm areas. However, up to now comprehensive maps of global distribution of winter lightning prevalence to be used for risk assessment have been unavailable. In this paper we present the global winter lightning activity for a period of 5 years. Using lightning location data and meteorological re-analysis data, three maps are created: annual winter lightning stroke density, seasonal variation of the winter lightning and the annual number of winter thunderstorm days. In the northern hemisphere, the maps confirmed Japan to be one of the most active regions but other areas such as the Mediterranean and the US are active as well. In the southern hemisphere, Argentina and New Zealand experience the highest activity. The maps provided here can be used for providing risk assessment.