The giant hailstones that killed a child in Girona were caused by climate change, and there will be more and more of them.

August 30, 2022 residents of the village. Bisbal d’Emporda, in Girona they saw the sky above their heads fall almost to pieces. As a result of the rain, ice balls with a diameter of up to 12 centimeters formed. A 20-month-old child died and more than 60 were injured.. Hail of such a huge size had never been observed in Spain, so it was clear that this was an exceptional phenomenon. Now, thanks to a study recently published by Spanish scientists, we know that this unusual storm was caused by changing of the climate driven by people, and if we don’t do something to change that, this could be the first of many.

These scientists from State Meteorological Agency, University of Valladolid, Complutense University of Madrid and Pablo de Olavide Universityfrom Seville, carried out computer simulations based on data from the pre-industrial era. That is, they analyzed how climatological phenomena would have developed without this. excess greenhouse gas emissions caused by industrialization. Thus they saw that the storm accompanying the hail would also take place. In fact, it is possible that hail fell, but the size It would be much less.

Hail size is a key factor in hurricane damage. Typically these ice balls have a diameter of 0.5 to 5 centimeters. 12 centimeters that have been recorded in this city of Girona are the exception, but over time they may become the norm. So why is this happening? What does this depend on? hail size? Here’s what we need to know about it.

Hail Recipe

Hail typically forms during a thunderstorm within clouds known as cumulonimbus clouds.

It all starts with a column warm, humid airwhich appears in the form rotating spiral. Inside this cloud, when moist air rises and reaches much colder layers of the atmosphere, the water quickly cools, turning into ice. Because the current moves in a spiral, the hail that begins to form will rise and fall several times without ever falling. On every climb accumulate some more iceso the hail gets bigger.

Finally, this can happen for two reasons. Good because it reaches size too big so that the air flow can support it, or because the air flow he becomes weak. Be that as it may, at this moment the final descent begins, during which it loses part of its size as it descends into warmer layers. Something smaller reaches us, so the hailstones of Girona were probably of enormous size.

What does climate change have to do with this?

We have already seen that hail requires moist air and a rotating spiral updraft to form.

The industrialization of the planet has gradually led to an increase Greenhouse gas emissions. This, in turn, led to warming of both the atmosphere and oceans. Warming oceans make the air around them more humid. In addition, warmer air tends to form bubbles, which, as they expand, become lighter and rise upward, generating the kind of air currents that are associated with the formation of hail.

Despite all this, climate change guarantees hail formation. As for their size, how much wetter and hotter is air, the more powerful the current generated will be. Hailstones fall when the current can no longer hold them aloft, but if the current is stronger, they will have more time to grow.

Previous records that will become the norm

The previous largest hailstorm in Spain occurred in two cities in Teruel in 2017 and 2018. Their size was 10 centimeters, so they were slightly smaller than in Girona, but much larger than what is still considered the norm.

The largest in history by diameter fell in 2010 in South Dakota. It was 20 centimeters, just what is considered the theoretical limit. In terms of mass, it is believed that the heaviest hail in history was the one that fell in 1986 in the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh and weighed just over a kilogram.

Both events were exceptional, but if climate change continues to progress, even larger hail events should be expected. According to a study published by these Spanish researchers, between 2021 and 2023, Spain experienced as many giant hail events as from 2011 to 2019. They’re piling up and it’s just begun. Further proof that, no matter how much we are told, climate change is a reality that has already begun to hit us.