Precipitation-related

Rain is precipitation of drops of water that falls from a cloud (WMO, 2017). While rain is essential for sustaining life and ecosystems, extreme rainfall is a primary trigger for some of the most devastating secondary hazards—flooding, landslides, and soil erosion—which result in widespread loss of life, damage to infrastructure, disruption of livelihoods, and environmental degradation (Rijal et al., 2024; Myhre et al., 2019). 

A drought is a period of abnormally dry weather characterised by a prolonged deficiency of precipitation below a certain threshold over a large area and a period longer than a month (WMO, 2023). 

Hail is precipitation in the form of particles of ice (hailstones). These can be either transparent or partly or completely opaque. They are usually spheroidal, conical or irregular in form, and generally 5−50 mm in diameter. The particles may fall from a cloud either separately or agglomerated in irregular lumps (WMO, 2017). 

Snow is the precipitation of ice crystals, isolated or agglomerated, falling from a cloud (WMO, 2017). 

A snow storm is a meteorological disturbance giving rise to a heavy fall of snow, often accompanied by strong winds (WMO, 1992). 

A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterised by poor visibility, usually occurring at high latitudes and in mountainous regions (WMO, 1992).