Updated January 21st, 2020 at 15:56 IST
Golf ball sized hailstones destroy years of research after smashing greenhouses
As parts of Australia was hit by golf-ball-sized hailstones, valuable Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation research got destroyed.
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As parts of Australia was hit by golf-ball-sized hailstones, valuable Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) research on creating environment-friendly crops got destroyed. According to reports, research on crops such as barley, wheat etc. was destroyed as hailstones directly went through glass panes, making it impossible to control temperatures and destroying plant leaves. The hailstorm also damaged a lot of cars, homes etc.
Just glimpsed the CSIRO glasshouses: none left standing. Think of all the experiments destroyed. https://t.co/YgveoHUBiz pic.twitter.com/m9izop4cpu
— Saul Justin Newman 🏳️🌈 (@saul_newman) January 20, 2020
More weather from Australia pic.twitter.com/rZk2ZTLROo
— Robert Lanfear (@RobLanfear) January 20, 2020
The hail stones are the biggest I've ever seen. Trees are stripped, windscreens smashed, a number of dead birds. pic.twitter.com/rtcdKqyXtY
— Robert Lanfear (@RobLanfear) January 20, 2020
Amazing record of the hail storm in a back windscreen... pic.twitter.com/IRWlUu9ntg
— Robert Lanfear (@RobLanfear) January 20, 2020
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It almost felt like an explosion
According to reports, Chief research scientist of CSIRO, Evans Lagudah said that as the golf-ball hailstones smashed through the glass panes, it almost felt like an explosion. Ladugah further added that CSIRO has reserve plant seeds but the hailstorm resulted in the full growth cycle of many plants being lost, prompting people working on the research to start from scratch on a few projects that have been going on for a couple of years. He further added that a few research projects could be saved if the plants were mature enough while the one that isn't can lose time up to a period of one year.
According to reports, CSIRO CEO, Judi Zielke said that it was fortunate that no one suffered any kind of injury in the hailstorm, adding that many of the projects that were lost mainly focused on how to reduce the use of water, fertiliser and chemical. According to reports, a few of the projects focused on ways to improve the sustainability of crops with researchers attempting to grow cotton, barley, wheat in potentially different ways.
Zeilke reportedly recalled a similar hailstorm that had happened in the year 2006 and said that it took a total of 2,500 panes of glass to repair the damage. The CEO further said that caused by the current hailstorm will require double the amount to fix the greenhouses. Dr Melanie Figueroa said that CSIRO was working in collaboration with organisations in Africa and North America, adding that the damage will have some effect on sending material to these organisations.
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Published January 21st, 2020 at 15:56 IST
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