Senior Researcher of the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation and Climate Change (Puslit MKPI) ITS Dr. Ir Amien Widodo MSi explores the causes of hail.

ITS Campus, ITS News – The public recently was shocked by the phenomenon of hail falling which is very rare in Indonesia. Responding to this, a senior researcher from the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation and Climate Change (Puslit MKPI) ITS Dr. Ir Amien Widodo MSi explains why this natural phenomenon can occur in Indonesia.

Amien explained, hail occurred because the Cumulonimbus (Cb) clouds were very large and dark like mushrooms. Clouds that often appear from the beginning to the end of the rainy season can cause hail because the downward airflow is pretty high. “With the support of low surface temperatures, the rain that will fall can be in the form of ice grains,” he explained.

Senior Researcher of the Research Center for Disaster Mitigation and Climate Change (Puslit MKPI) ITS Dr. Ir Amien Widodo MSi explores the causes of hail.

Apart from this, continued Amien, Cb clouds can also bring heavy tornadoes. According to him, this has exacerbated the effects of it that have often occurred recently in Indonesia. “This hail is not the first time this has happened in Indonesia, the condition is getting worse because more and more points are experiencing this,” said the lecturer of the ITS Geophysical Engineering Department.

Previously, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) stated that climate change had occurred all over the world. The effect is that the conditions on the earth’s surface will become more extreme if left unchecked, including the occurrence of hurricanes, which were previously very rare in Indonesia. “This is something that everyone needs to pay serious attention to, because hail is the aftermath of climate change,” he said.

Given the climate change that has occurred, Amien explained that hail has the potential to become a natural disaster from what was previously just an ordinary natural phenomenon. Amien added that it is larger and denser can bring damage to the community, such as breaking glass or roof tiles. “However, hurricanes that come along with more hail must be watched out for because they are more destructive,” he reminded.

Illustration of the cause of hail from Cumulonimbus clouds (source from BMKG)

Unfortunately, the occurance of hail cannot be predicted with certainty when and where, so people still have to be aware, especially during the rainy season. It is because Cb clouds do not always bring hurricanes and rain hail. “Construction must be better prepared to face it accompanied by hurricanes,” he ordered. (NL/ITS Public Relation)

Reporter: Faqih Ulumuddin