Take a look at the circled area on the satellite image below, which shows a vast patch of bright white that stands out against the dry and rocky landscape. The picture could make you wonder: Is it snow? Is it a desert? Or something else entirely? This mysterious scene is located in Almería, a province in southern Spain, and what you see in the photo might surprise you.
A satellite image showing an area close to Almeria, Spain.
These white patches are enormous greenhouses! Almería is famous for its “sea of plastic,” an enormous collection of greenhouses where many of the fresh vegetables we eat in the UK are grown, including peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The greenhouses cover an estimated area of around 40,000 hectares, which is about the size of 57,143 football fields.
An aerial photograph showing greenhouses in Almeria
On Monday, 28th October 2024, a powerful hailstorm hit Almería, causing severe damage to these greenhouses and the crops inside them. It is estimated that around 5,000 hectares of greenhouses were affected by the hailstorm, leading to significant losses for the farmers. This is why the price of peppers could be rising in the UK soon.
Did you know?
Some 25% of the UK’s imported peppers come from Almería, with Spain being the single greatest source of all fresh produce imported into Britain.
The hailstone was caused by a DANA (Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos) event. A DANA happens when a pocket of cold air gets trapped high up in the atmosphere while the air near the ground is much warmer. This makes the atmosphere unstable, causing the warm air to rise quickly. As the warm air rises, it cools down and forms big storm clouds. Strong winds push water droplets up and down inside these clouds, turning them into ice. These ice particles get bigger and bigger until they are too heavy for the wind to hold up, and they fall as hailstones. This is what caused the hailstorm that damaged the greenhouses in Almería.
The hailstorm was intense enough to smash the plastic covering of the greenhouses, which means that many of the plants inside were damaged. Farmers must repair the greenhouses and save as many crops as possible, which takes time and money. Because of this damage, the number of peppers available to export will be reduced, which means fewer peppers will arrive in UK supermarkets. When there is less of something people want to buy, the price often goes up, and this is what might happen to peppers in the coming weeks.
Almería is one of the main places that supplies vegetables to many parts of Europe, especially during the colder months when growing vegetables in the UK is harder. This region has a very sunny climate, ideal for growing crops all year round. However, extreme weather, like a hailstorm, can greatly affect the food supply. Events like this show how weather in one part of the world can impact what we find on our shelves at home.
