Heavy rain, floods, and huge hail continued to wreak havoc worldwide in August. The solar minimum has triggered three consecutive years of La Niña and stronger monsoons in Asia, bringing wetter and colder conditions in some parts of the world, and drier and hotter conditions in others. Yet, this pattern also predicts a significant impact in the northern hemisphere during the winter, with colder temperatures and more snow precipitation.
One-third of Pakistan has been hit with non-stop rains and floods for the most part of this summer. The catastrophic monsoon rain and floods are unprecedented in scale and scope. So far, 33 million people have been affected and the country's agriculture, a pillar Pakistan's economy, has been overwhelmed. Nearly half the cotton crop has been lost.
In Afghanistan, several provinces across the eastern, central, southern, and western regions were also hit by heavy rains, resulting in flash floods and landslides that caused the deaths of more than 180 people, displaced at least 8,000 others, and damaged at least 3,000 houses.
As much as 15 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of northern Texas, triggering flash floods across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Meanwhile, heavy rain and floods took their toll in parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Las Vegas got its second mayor flood in the span of 2 weeks caused by an unusually wet monsoon season for the desert city.
In West Virginia, the Governor declared a state of emergency after heavy floods caused damage to dozens of homes in Fayette and Kanawha counties. Some residents had to be rescued and evacuated from flooded areas. Roads and bridges were also damaged.
Massive hail hit parts of China, South Africa, and France, causing widespread damage to buildings, cars, and crops. At least a dozen people sustained significant injuries.
In Catalonia, a 20-month-old girl died after being struck by a large hailstone as fierce storms raged across parts of the northeastern Spanish region. It was the largest hail seen in two decades.
Hailstones rarely poses a safety threat to people, but it has happened:
"The World Meteorological Organization reported that the highest mortality associated with a hailstorm happened near Moradabad, India, on April 30, 1888. The deadly storm killed 246 people with pieces of hail as large as "goose eggs, oranges and cricket balls"."
And:
"In spite of the enormous crop and property damage that hailstorms cause, only three people are known to have been killed by falling hailstones in modern U.S. history: a farmer caught in his field near Lubbock, Texas on May 13, 1930; a baby struck by large hail in Fort Collins, Colorado, on July 31, 1979; and a boater on Lake Worth, Texas, on March 29, 2000."
And last but not least, an unseasonable and sudden bout of heavy snow hit multiple mountainous areas in Altay Prefecture, northwest China. A rare sight for this time of the year.
All this and more in our SOTT Earth Changes Summary for August 2022.