Egg-sized hailstones injure 100, destroy 18,000 homes in China

http://www.terradaily.com/2003/ 030414045808.1ajlb3dh.html

Egg-sized hailstones injure 100, destroy 18,000 homes in China

BEIJING (AFP) Apr 14, 2003

Hailstones the size of eggs crashed into an eastern Chinese province, destroying 18,000 homes and injuring more than 100 people, state press and local officials said Monday.

The hailstorm hit Saturday afternoon in Zhejiang province and lasted for 10 minutes, said an official surnamed Chen from the social disaster rescue relief section of the Bureau of Civil Affairs in Wenling city.

'Forty-two villages from two townships were stricken,' he said.

'The hailstones were the size of eggs, some up to 45mm (1.8 inches) big.

'Our estimates are that 60,000 villagers were affected, among which 30,000 people were seriously affected.'

Chen said 10 people were seriously hurt in the storm and that 'numerous people were slightly hurt.'

The China Daily put the injury toll at 105.

Rescue workers were dispatched to the area armed with emergency rescue materials, including temporary shelters, said Chen.

He added that the damage bill was likely to reach 80 million yuan(million

This is interesting, because one impact of climate change that most global warming computer models have predicted is more extreme weather events. It would seem that this freak hailstorm in China fits into the scenarios that the models have come up with, and that this could be evidence that 'anthropogenic' climate change is in fact occurring.

I thought 'Troll' was mostly a greenhouse warming skeptic, but here he/she seems to be presenting evidence for the 'green' side.

In line with this Chinese hailstorm, curiously enough, the National Climactic Data Center (NCDC) in the U.S. Department of Commerce is reporting that during March 2003, something like 25 percent of the continental US was suffering from 'serious to severe' levels of drought.

Unusually intense drought also has characterized about 25 percent of the United States for at least half a year now.

Could this be evidence that the extreme weather events predicted in the major greenhouse warming models are beginning to come to pass? Or is this just a cyclical weather event brought on by fluctuations in the El Nino/La Nina cycle? * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Not really. It was a severe weather event (note the singular tense). You cannot 'blame' any single weather event on climate change, or increased GHG levels, or anything else for that matter. GW is an effect, not a cause.

Again, drought is a natural part of the climate in many areas. While the processes leading to GW may be playing a role in the current drought, proving it is an entirely different matter.

Wait 10 years and see.

You break the weather machine, and you get hailstones as big as watermelons, as big as volkswagons. Better to use the precautionary principle and don't break what you don't know how to fix.

Incorrect. This was a severe thunderstorm. They happen. All the time.