New Reality: Global Warming Intensified Hurricane Melissa's Force, Research Confirms
Every aspect of Hurricane Melissa, the most intense storm that has ever impacted Jamaica, was worsened by the climate change, a team of scientists has found.
Melissa produced extensive destruction when it crunched into Jamaica as a category five hurricane on October 28, with winds up to 185mph.
Hurricane-force winds of Melissa's strength are now fivefold more common due to the climate crisis, the study said.
The storm eliminated homes, businesses, crops and livelihoods, costing damages calculated to represent around one-third of the island nation's GDP.
The hurricane forced the evacuation of numerous of people as it continued on to hit Cuba, with its intense storms causing damage as far as the Dominican Republic and Haiti. No fewer than 61 people have perished as a result.
Research Findings
The extreme intensity of Melissa was intensified by overheated air and ocean, caused by greenhouse gases that come from the burning of petroleum products, a worldwide group of scientists has confirmed.
Climate change boosted Melissa's strongest gusts by 7% and heavy precipitation by 16%, researchers found.
Occurrences such as the five days of torrential downpours in Jamaica from Melissa are now about 30% more severe and twice as likely due to current climate changes, which is about 1.3C hotter, globally, than the pre-industrial era.
Global heating has made the weather and sea patterns behind such catastrophic phenomena sixfold more probable.
"What we see with Hurricane Melissa and other current giant cyclones is that they are growing so powerful that they will soon force countless individuals past the boundaries of adaptation," said a climate scientist.
"Unless we stop using fossil fuels, we will see more and more countries hitting these boundaries."
Sudden Escalation
Melissa is merely the newest case of a major storm suddenly picking up strength with remarkable rapidity. This "quick strengthening" was remarkably evident with this hurricane, with Melissa's wind speeds shooting up from 68mph to 139mph in a single day.
This occurrence is a characteristic of a warming climate, scientists have discovered, with storms empowered by heat in the marine and atmospheric conditions to become more fierce.
Melissa progressed leisurely over marine areas that were approximately 1.5 degrees warmer than the long-term norm, developing a brutal strength it then released on Jamaica.
"Hurricane Melissa's destructive arrival in Jamaica is not an anomaly, it is the canary in the coal mine," said an academic expert.
"When a storm can rapidly strengthen from 70 to 185mph in less than three days over marine areas that are 1.5 degrees hotter than normal, we are witnessing the dangerous new reality of our heating planet."
Environmental Funding
The huge task of restoration and redevelopment from a storm that caused around $6bn in damages to Jamaica has again highlighted the complex matter of international climate finance.
For years, emerging nations at climate risk have requested richer nations to offer monetary assistance to help them with the extreme weather events that these less wealthy places have done little to cause.
Next week, countries will assemble for annual UN climate talks to again discuss climate finance.
"Developed countries must fulfill their promises and scale up climate support, recognizing that environmental adjustment is essential for the continued existence of island nations," he declared.
Donations to support to aid at-risk countries are so far "grossly inadequate," leaders have stated.
