Remote sensing methods for hail damage assessment in the South of Russia

Agriculture in Russia is facing various climatic cataclysms (droughts, floods, frosts, and hailstorms), with hailstorms being one of the most destructive. Hailstorms can cause significant damage to crops, which can have a negative impact on the economy. As a result, military-style services are actively working to protect agricultural land from this natural phenomenon. There are cases when it is not possible to prevent hailstorms, due to objective reasons, and then it is necessary to assess the damage caused to crops. The article presents a combined remote sensing method for assessment of hail damage to crops in the Krasnodar Krai using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) [1]. Satellite images of agricultural crops located in the Krasnodar Krai, taken before the hailstorm, and multispectral images taken by the Geoscan Gemini UAV after the hailstorm caused damage to the crops were used for the analysis. A comparative analysis of the NDVI values before and after the hailstorm allowed for quantitative assessment of the damage to the crops. The methodology was tested on wheat, barley, and sugar beet crops after the hailstorm on June 12, 2025. It has been established that a decrease in NDVI by more than 30% in most cases corresponds to a complete loss of the crop. The developed approach can be used for prompt assessment of agricultural damage, agrometeorological monitoring and decision-making in the field of agricultural insurance and crop management.