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With nearly all of the votes counted, left-leaning Mr Milanovic won 49% while his main challenger Dragan Primorac, a candidate of the ruling conservative HDZ party, trailed far behind with 19%. Pre-election polls had predicted that the two would face off in the second round on January 12, as none of the eight presidential election contenders were projected to get more than 50% of the vote. Mr Milanovic thanked his supporters but warned that “this was just a first run”. “Let’s not be triumphant, let’s be realistic, firmly on the ground,” he said. “We must fight all over again. It’s not over till it’s over.” Mr Milanovic, the most popular politician in Croatia, has served as prime minister in the past. Populist in style, the 58-year-old has been a fierce critic of current Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and continuous sparring between the two has been a recent hallmark of Croatia’s political scene. Mr Plenkovic has sought to portray the vote as one about Croatia’s future in the EU and Nato. He has labelled Mr Milanovic “pro-Russian” and a threat to Croatia’s international standing. “The difference between him (Mr Primorac) and Milanovic is quite simple: Milanovic is leading us East, Primorac is leading us West,” he said. Though the presidency is largely ceremonial in Croatia, an elected president holds political authority and acts as the supreme commander of the military. Mr Milanovic has criticised the Nato and European Union support for Ukraine and has often insisted that Croatia should not take sides. He has said Croatia should stay away from global disputes, thought it is a member of both Nato and the EU. Mr Milanovic has also blocked Croatia’s participation in a Nato-led training mission for Ukraine, declaring that “no Croatian soldier will take part in somebody else’s war”. His main rival in the election, Mr Primorac, has stated that “Croatia’s place is in the West, not the East”. However, his bid for the presidency has been marred by a high-level corruption case that landed Croatia’s health minister in jail last month and which featured prominently in pre-election debates. Trailing a distant third in the pre-election polls is Marija Selak Raspudic, a conservative independent candidate. She has focused her election campaign on the economic troubles of ordinary citizens, corruption and issues such as population decline in the country of some 3.8 million. Sunday’s presidential election is Croatia’s third vote this year, following a snap parliamentary election in April and the European Parliament balloting in June.
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Scientists have been fascinated by hailstone formation for decades, specifically how these icy spheres develop inside storm clouds. Hail occurs when raindrops are swept into the upper, colder regions of clouds during thunderstorms, where they freeze and grow larger before falling back to Earth. Recent research from the Meteorological Service of Catalonia has taken a breakthrough step with CT scanning technology, allowing researchers to examine the internal structure of hailstones without destroying them. The study, published in Frontiers in Environmental Science , highlights how CT scans have enabled scientists to visualize the internal makeup of particularly large hailstones from a significant thunderstorm that struck the northeast Iberian Peninsula in August 2022. Hailstone formation Carme Farnell Barqué, a researcher at the Meteorological Service of Catalonia and lead author of the study, expressed enthusiasm about the findings. “This is the first time we’ve directly observed the complete internal structure of hailstones, offering valuable insights into how they form and potentially improving forecasting methods.” After the severe storm, which produced hailstones measuring up to 12 centimeters in diameter, researchers collected samples from residents who had preserved them in their freezers. This collaboration allowed scientists to analyze the stones back in the lab using CT scanning, a method typically reserved for medical imaging but adapted here to study weather phenomena . In the lab, three hailstones were selected for detailed scans, revealing a wealth of information about their growth. The researchers employed advanced imaging equipment previously found only in dental clinics. Senior author Professor Xavier Úbeda from the University of Barcelona noted, “We aimed to gain more insight into the internal layers of the hailstones without damaging the samples. The clarity of the images we obtained exceeded our expectations.” Scientists created over 500 3D images, or “slices,” for each hailstone using this technology. These scans detailed the density and structure, allowing researchers to identify different layers associated with their growth during the storm. Co-author Professor Javier Martin-Vide explained , “CT scans reveal density variations, helping us pinpoint the growth stages of the hailstones and the processes that led to their formation.” The results provided fascinating insights that challenge previous assumptions about the shape and structure of hailstones. Using CT scan Researchers discovered that the internal axes and planes of the stones were not always regular, even though they appeared nearly spherical from the outside. The cores of some hailstones were located off-center, suggesting that these stones can grow unevenly in three different directions. Moreover, the researchers observed that the layers of the hailstones varied in density. Some samples exhibited thicker sections, indicating the side that faced downward during their fall. This observation contradicted the previous belief that only irregularly shaped hailstones could form large sizes. However, the team also noted some challenges associated with using CT scans. The imaging process can be costly, and some images reveal anomalies researchers have yet to comprehend fully. Addressing these issues is crucial, especially given predictions of future more frequent and severe hail events due to climate change. With more extreme weather expected to affect economies and communities worldwide, researchers believe their findings could aid in developing strategies to reduce the potential damage from hailstorms. Exploring hailstone formation enhances scientific understanding and improves forecasting and preparedness measures for severe weather events. As scientists continue to analyze the complex insides of hailstones, this innovative research opens new avenues in meteorological studies, paving the way for safer communities in the face of increasingly severe storms.
