Forecast: Climate change will bring more frequent and more intense hailstorms
Vienna (OTS) – (Austrian hail insurance, May 17, 2024): The first huge hailstorm of this year hit Burgenland this afternoon, leaving a trail of destruction in agriculture. The most recent frost events with damage to local agriculture amounting to 56 million euros to fruit and wine crops are still painful memories. The dramatic thing: Experts at GeoSphere Austria predict an increase in extreme weather events in the future, driven by global warming.
The damage figures in Burgenland: 1.3 million euros in damage on 5,000 hectares of agricultural land
“According to the initial surveys by the experts from the Austrian Hail Insurance, the total damage is Burgenland agriculture 1.3 million euros“, so Dr. Kurt Weinberger, Chairman of the Board of the Austrian Hagelversicherung, in a first balance sheet. Damage occurred in the districts Neusiedl am See and Eisenstadt area a total agricultural area 5,000 Hectares. Affected cultures are Arable, wine and fruit crops. “Due to climate change, hail events will become even more intense and frequent in the future. As a natural catastrophe insurer, we have been observing this development for several years. For agriculture – 80 percent of whose yield depends on the weather – this circumstance can only be overcome with comprehensive risk precautions. “Ultimately it’s about livelihoods and about agriculture as a food producer as well as landscape and cultural conservation,” adds Weinberger.
GeoSphere Austria: Climate research predicts stormy times
GeoSphere Austria brings together scientific expertise and provides answers to the major climatic challenges. The experts at GeoSphere Austria agree: climate change is causing hailstones to grow. “Research shows that both the size and frequency of hailstones will increase in the future. The reason for this is the high proportion of water vapor in the lower layers of the atmosphere. Due to climate change, the air is becoming warmer and warmer air can hold more water vapor. The more water vapor there is in the atmosphere, the more energy there is that can be discharged into severe thunderstorms. “The probability of small-scale storms is higher, particularly along the northern edge of the Alps and in the south of Austria,” said Dr. Andreas Schaffhauser, General Director of GeoSphere Austria.
Storms cost a lot
“Record-breaking storms will no longer be an exception in the future, but will become the norm if we do not get global warming under control. The consequences of climate change in the form of increasing natural disasters lead to major ecological and economic damage. A socio-political rethink is therefore needed quickly in order to reverse the trend. This also includes a reduction in land consumption from almost 12 hectares per day to – according to the government program – 2.5 hectares per day. Ultimately, soil protection also means climate protection,” Weinberger and Schaffhauser agree.
GeoSphere Austria
The state weather and earthquake service, formerly the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG), and the geological service, the Federal Geological Institute (GBA), will combine their expertise in GeoSphere Austria on January 1, 2023. As a national geological, geophysical, climatological and meteorological service, this federal agency makes an important contribution to increasing national resilience and crisis resistance.
Questions & Contact:
DI Günther Kurz, Burgenland regional management, +43 664 281 83 75, g.kurz@hagel.at
Proc. Dr. Mario Winkler, press spokesman for Austrian Hagelversicherung, +43 664 827 20 67, m.winkler@hagel.at, www.hagel.at