this massive hail storm A historic record that fell on Empordà (Girona) on Tuesday, causing the death of a 20-month-old girl In the last 20 years in Catalonia. Bisbal d’Empordà meteorological observatory (Baix Empordà) noted stones with a diameter of up to 10 centimeters. El Periódico de Catalunya has not been recorded of equal magnitude since 2000, when the Catalan Meteorological Service (Meteocat) began collecting official data on severe weather conditions.
Santi Segalà, head of forecasting for Meteocat, said: “extraordinary” He cautioned that while he stressed that there is no definitive study linking the phenomenon recorded at Empordà and this “one-off, local, 15-minute” hailstorm with climate change, climate change reports have warned that it is extreme and severe. actually this happened will become more and more common.
Storms and hailstorms are common in late summer in Catalonia. “It’s not the hailstorm that is exceptional, it’s the size of the stones,” says this expert. In this case Various factors came together This explains the virulence of the phenomenon. “We come from an extremely hot summer, stubborn temperatures long. The temperature of the sea water is also above average. This is discomfort, moisture and rising winds caused an unusual storm,” Segalà explains.
17 km strong storm
“All records have been broken. No stones this large have been recorded since the official Meteocat record was set in 2000,” he confirms. This expert recalls an example of 7-centimeter stones, and also explains that in Lleida, where hailstorms are more common than in other parts of Catalonia, the stones are usually between 2 and 6 centimeters in size. “And that size is already huge,” he emphasizes.
this stormComing from the south of France, he was extraordinary in another way: 17 kilometers altitude. This is brutality. These are the numbers for a very strong storm with rising winds that explains the size of the stones,” adds the head of the Meteocat forecasts.
Impact of climate change?
Is it the result of climate change? Experts do not have exact data. “East It was a punctual phenomenon, took 15 minutes and affected two or three municipalities. Such a punctuality cannot be attributed to climate change,” explains Segalà. Remember that the effects of climate change are long-term. heat waves or drought.
He acknowledges that climate change reports predict that. Severe and extreme events such as heavy rains, floods or hurricane winds will become increasingly common.. “But for something this punctual we cannot conclude that it is due to climate change,” he insists. It would be “too bold and unscientific”. “More deeper studies are needed,” he emphasizes.