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hurricane Melissa is cutting a path of destruction through the Caribbean this week, hitting Jamaica, Cuba And winds gusted up to 185 mph in the Bahamas.
Support groups are still working to assess The full extent of the storm’s damageIn which more than 30 people are reported to have died so far.
Melissa has been dubbed the ‘storm of the century’ and is one of the worst storms to hit the region in decades. Experts say that StormThe strong winds and its slow motion, possibly exacerbated by climate change, have allowed a massive storm to persist in the region for maximum damage.
Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, said the storm was “a severe slow-moving event”, noting that “slow-moving major storms often go down as some of the deadliest and most destructive storms in history”.
“The damage caused by this historic hurricane is devastating. It was the first direct hit by a Category 5 hurricane in Jamaica’s recorded history,” he said.
“As Melissa moved toward western Jamaica, it was tight inland, with peak winds about 20 miles across. It may be a narrow path, but there will be significant destruction,” he said, warning that damage could look similar to ‘severe’ EF3 and EF4 tornadoes, as seen in the United States.
The Advanced Fujita Scale gives a score from EF0 to EF5, and the EFU, for unknowns, rates the intensity of the tornado based on damage. EF3 has wind speeds of 136-165mph and causes ‘severe damage’. An EF4 has speeds of 166-200mph and causes ‘catastrophic damage’, turning well-built homes into rubble and overturning large, heavy vehicles.
David Simon, professor of development geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, said: “Hurricane Melissa is particularly devastating because of the complex set of interacting factors driving it and the nature of the places where it has made and will still make landfall.”
“Climate change is increasing ocean temperatures, which is increasing evaporation,” said Professor Simon, lead author of the IPCC special report on climate change and cities, to be published in March 2027.
“Air circulating in the low pressure system lifts it and the complex physics leads to a strong and deep vortex that can reach many thousands of meters into the sky.”
Hurricanes use warm water to form and become stronger. Evaporation creates a mass of warm, moist air, which rises and creates an area of low pressure over the ocean surface.
More air from the high pressure areas then moves into the low pressure area, which in turn gets heated and rises, fueling the process. As warm air cools, water in the air forms clouds. Driven by the heat and evaporation of the ocean, clouds and winds begin to grow and rotate.
As the Earth rotates, the storm rotates, causing an eye to form in the center, where air pressure is lowest. A hurricane – defined as having a wind speed of at least 74 mph – does not necessarily move faster through an area with higher wind speeds.
In fact hurricanes are now moving more slowly than before, resulting in more sustained damage, They say Environmental Defense Force Advocacy Group. One theory is that the winds that drive hurricanes move slower in warmer climates, potentially causing climate change.
Professor Simon said, “Melissa is unusually slow moving – reportedly at 2-5 mph – which means it became particularly intense before striking the south-west coast of Jamaica last night. Similarly, it spent more time over Jamaica, thus keeping everything in its track under influence for a longer period of time.” Independent,
Warming oceans also likely contribute to the rapid intensification of hurricanes like Melissa, whose winds increase from 70 mph to 140 mph in just one day.
Akshay Deoras, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, said: “We are living in a warmer world, and that means storms are more likely to intensify rapidly, especially near the coast.
“That part of the Atlantic is extremely warm at the moment – about 30 degrees Celsius, which is 2 to 3 degrees Celsius above normal.
“And it’s not just the surface. The deeper layers of the ocean are also unusually warm, providing a vast reservoir of energy for hurricanes.”
Bernadette Woods Plucky, chief meteorologist at Climate Central, said not all tropical cyclones will be as “rapidly intense” as Melissa, but the chances of that happening are increasing in “our warming world.”
Melissa was recorded as the strongest landfall on record in the Atlantic Basin, AccuWeather said.
According to experts, the situation worsened due to excessive rains, which caused the most devastating damage to infrastructure and increased loss of life and property.
“When we discuss hurricanes we hear a lot about damage from wind – and of course there will be – but most of the destruction is actually caused by water,” said climate data scientist Max Dugan-Knight. dark skyHe reported that storm surge, defined as “a rapid rise in sea level during a storm”, could “level entire neighborhoods”.
A Deep Sky Reportuse up four decades of climate dataIt was found that the frequency of extreme storm rainfall has increased by 300 percent.
It also found that severe storm rainfall, which previously occurred once every 100 years, will now occur every 25 years. “These are no longer rare events,” the report warned. “They will occur with greater frequency and severity. This is our new normal.”
Mr Dugan-Knight added, “Climate change extends the hurricane season so these storms become more likely in late autumn.” “Some deaths caused by hurricanes occur in the weeks and months following the storm.
“The effects of climate change are cascading and impactful on this hurricane. As we continue to warm our oceans, hurricanes will become stronger and deadlier.”
And despite the low-lying islands being affected on this occasion, Dugan-Knight warns that the US and Europe will soon see the impact.
“Extreme weather events such as hurricanes have increased in frequency and severity. They often make landfall in the US and Europe and cause damage and loss of life in both places,” he said. “More and more these storms are affecting Britain and Europe.”