A series of heavy rains mixed with hailstones has struck coffee plantations right as the trees are setting fruit, leaving farmers—whose livelihoods depend on coffee—deeply worried about a disastrous harvest.
Earlier fears that early flowering, frost, and lack of irrigation might reduce the 2013 coffee crop had barely eased when farmers in Di Linh District, Lam Dong Province faced a new threat: a relentless barrage of hail.
Sudden Hailstorms
Around 4 p.m. on March 29, a powerful rainstorm swept through Tan Nghia Commune, one of Lam Dong’s largest coffee-growing areas, accompanied by hailstones the size of fingertips. Local residents reported that dark clouds rolled in with thunder, and soon a heavy downpour began. Mixed with the rain were countless icy pellets—some as big as corn kernels—bouncing across yards before melting.
About three minutes into the downpour, loud crashes echoed from metal rooftops as more hailstones fell and rolled across the ground. This phenomenon lasted only a few minutes but was striking nonetheless.
This was already the third hailstorm to hit the area in a short span. The two earlier storms had brought even larger hailstones and more intense conditions than the one on March 29. According to experienced coffee growers, the timing is critical: the coffee trees are in the stage of forming young cherries, and the strong impact of falling hail can knock these tender fruits to the ground.
Risks Beyond the Immediate Harvest
Hailstorms do more than reduce yields.
“If large hailstones fall or if hail comes in three directions, it’s a real disaster,” said Bui Duc Manh (47), a veteran coffee farmer with over 20 years of experience in Di Linh. “Besides knocking off the young cherries, hail can break branches and strip shoots. Restoring a coffee tree damaged like that can take years.”
Nguyen Van Que, Chairman of the Farmers’ Association of Tan Nghia Commune, said that this latest hailstorm did not cause serious damage to coffee trees or other crops. However, having three hailstorms in just a few days is highly unusual. In past years, hail usually struck only once or twice.
“Last year, a hailstorm caused significant losses for coffee farmers in several parts of the commune,” Que added. “Repeated hailstorms can create panic and anxiety because nearly everyone here depends on coffee for their livelihood. If hail destroys the crop, many families will face severe hardship.”
An Uncommon but Dangerous Threat
Hail is a relatively rare natural phenomenon, but when it occurs it can inflict heavy damage and even rise to the level of a natural disaster. Today, coffee farmers in Lam Dong’s key growing areas are losing sleep over the risk of a failed harvest as hail continues to threaten their fields.