W.J.W. Botzena, L.M. Bouwera, J.C.J.M. van den Berg

Resource and Energy Economics

Published date August 1, 2010

Climate change and hailstorm damage: Empirical evidence and implications for agriculture and insurance

  • States there is much uncertainty about the effects of anthropogenic climate change on the frequency and severity of extreme weather events like hailstorms, and subsequent economic losses
  • States that hailstorm damage may increase in the future if global warming leads to further temperature increase
  • Investigates the relationship between insured hailstorm damage to agriculture and several temperature and precipitation indicators for the Netherlands
  • Finds that a combination of maximum temperatures and precipitation predicts hailstorm damage best
  • Estimates that by 2050 annual hailstorm damage to outdoor farming could increase by between 25% and 50%, with considerably larger impacts on greenhouse horticulture in summer of more than 200%

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