A massive hailstorm blasted northeastern Spain a couple of years ago. It lasted only 10 minutes or so. But it produced the largest hailstones ever recorded in the country—the size of softballs. It might have been kicked up a couple of notches by another type of “weather” event—a marine heatwave.

The storm roared to life on August 30th, 2022. It caused major damage to roofs, cars, and crops. It injured 67 people, and killed a toddler, who was hit in the head by one of the giant hailstones.

A recent study blamed the intensity of the storm on global climate change. Scientists simulated climate conditions under different levels of air and ocean warming.

The storm took place during a marine heatwave in the western Mediterranean Sea. The surface water temperature topped 85 degrees Fahrenheit—five degrees higher than normal. That produced more evaporation, which fed extra moisture into the air. It also heated the air, providing the energy to build storm clouds. As hailstones developed, strong updrafts pushed them back up, so they just kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally, they became heavy enough to plunge to the ground—causing chaos.

The study said the hailstorm itself could have happened without today’s higher temperatures. But it would not have been as intense or as destructive.

Major hailstorms have been getting more common across Spain and the rest of Europe. And the study says that trend should continue—powered by our warming climate.

Many gardeners use clam shells as decorations. But not many garden the clams themselves. Yet clam gardens can yield more clams than untended shorelines, provide more species diversity, and even protect the clams from the acidity in today’s oceans.

Clams were gardened as early as 4,000 years ago by the people of the Pacific Northwest, from Alaska to Washington. In some regions, the gardens lined the entire coastline.

The gardens consisted of short walls built along the shore, forming enclosures, with terraces behind the walls. Water flowed in, and some of it was trapped as the tide rolled out. That provided habitat for littleneck and butter clams.

The gardens were abandoned after European settlers moved in. But research over the past decade shows that the gardens were highly effective. They could produce up to twice as many littleneck clams as uncultivated areas, and four times as many butter clams. The gardens also attracted other life, including seaweed and sea cucumbers, providing a more diverse diet for the gardeners.

Gardens also contained a lot of clam shells, which provide the minerals clams need to make new shells. That’s especially important today, because higher levels of ocean acidity make it harder for clams to produce shells.

The Swinomish people of Washington have recently built new clam gardens. They produce food, provide a training ground, and give scientists a place to study the gardens and their “crops”—butter and littleneck clams.

Life along the American coastline has been getting more perilous. Earth’s warming climate is causing a rise in sea level, an increase in major hurricanes, more marine heatwaves, and many other problems. That costs time, money, and lives. And things are expected to get even worse in the decades ahead.

A new national climate assessment, issued in late 2023, forecasted that sea level will rise an average of almost a foot from 2020 to 2050. That equals the total rise over the past century. As a result, the report says that coastal flooding at high tide should happen 5 to 10 times more often. Erosion will wash away beaches and bring cliffs tumbling down. And some hurricanes will become far more destructive.

The assessment says the combination of the changing climate and human adaptations, such as more seawalls and levees, will make it more difficult for coastal ecosystems to adapt. Such ecosystems function as buffers against tropical storms, help control erosion, and provide habitat for fish and other organisms.

The report says that some actions now may help minimize the impacts of climate change and human adaptations in the future. Restoring coastal habitat is one of the most important. Cities and towns can also beef up their infrastructure—moving roadways and improving stormwater systems, for example. And they can start planning to relocate people and buildings to less-hazardous areas—to meet the growing threat of climate change.