Will it snow at the equator?

It will snow at the equator. According to foreign media reports, it snowed in the western part of the equatorial country Cameroon, and hail and snow fell in Bana and other places. The "snow" even damaged several roofs and farms.

As we all know, the equator is exposed to direct sunlight all year round and is hot and rainy all year round. Snow here is a very rare spectacle. Local people go out to have snowball fights and have a lot of fun. Many people even drive. Go to the snowy place and enjoy the beautiful scenery. The whole scene is like a carnival. This abnormal phenomenon will naturally attract the attention and reports of the global media. Many people’s first reaction is that global cooling has led to snowfall in the equatorial region. However, experts said: This is probably not snow, but hail, and the cause is not It's because of global cooling.

Although snow and hail are both solid water, their formation conditions are different. Snow is mainly formed when water vapor evaporates and rises to high altitudes. In the troposphere, for every 1,000 meters it rises, the temperature drops by about 6 degrees Celsius. When water vapor rises to a certain height, it condenses with condensation nuclei in the air. Into small raindrops. If the temperature is low enough, water molecules in the air will condense with condensation nuclei to form small ice crystals, snowflakes, etc., which will then fall down. During the falling process, if the ground temperature is high, the snowflakes will melt during the falling process and form sleet or rainfall.

The main reason why what appears in equatorial Cameroon is not snow is because the local temperature does not meet the conditions for snowfall. Cameroon is located above the equator and has a tropical climate. The average temperature throughout the year is around 24 degrees Celsius. It is hot and rainy throughout the year, and the seasonal changes are not obvious. More importantly, when there is snowfall in Cameroon, local people go out wearing short-sleeves. This shows that even if it has just snowed, the local temperature is still very high and does not meet the conditions for snowfall.

The generation of hail is much more complicated than rain and snow. Generally speaking, the generation of hail is related to strong updrafts and sufficient water vapor. . Strong updrafts will cause the height of the clouds to reach about 10,000 meters. In such a high environment, the temperature will be very low, even reaching about minus 30 degrees Celsius. At this time, the water vapor in the uppermost part of the clouds will condense with the condensation nuclei in the air to form small ice crystals. The small ice crystals will sink downwards. During the sinking process, they will combine with the water vapor below to form larger ice crystals. ice crystals. During the sinking process, the ice crystals will be carried back to high altitudes by strong updrafts, where they will continue to combine with the surrounding water vapor. In this way, after the hail embryos continue to sink, rise, and sink, hail will form. ?

Personal suggestion: When the hail is heavy enough and the updraft cannot carry it back to high altitude, the hail will fall to the ground under the action of gravity. Normally, hailstones are not very big, but if the updraft is too strong, hailstones as big as eggs or even grapefruits may appear.