Human-caused climate change boosted the destructive winds and rain unleashed by Hurricane Melissa and increased the temperatures and humidity that fueled the storm, according to an analysis released Thursday.
Melissa was one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes to make landfall and brought destructive weather to Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Cuba, causing dozens of deaths across the Caribbean. Roofs were torn off homes, hospitals were damaged, roads were obstructed by landslides, and crop fields were ruined.
The rapid analysis by World Weather Attribution found that climate change increased Melissa’s maximum wind speeds by 7% and made the rainfall 16% more intense. Furthermore, the temperature and humidity where the storm formed were six times more likely to occur due to climate change compared to a pre-industrial world.
Melissa drew enormous energy from abnormally warm ocean water. Ocean temperatures in its path were about 1.4°C (2.5°F) warmer than normal.
“Warmer ocean temperatures are effectively the engine that drives a hurricane… the warmer the ocean temperatures, the greater the wind speed a hurricane can have,” said Theodore Keeping, a climate scientist contributing to the analysis.
Melissa is the fourth storm in the Atlantic this year to undergo rapid intensification, indicating a worrying trend linked to climate change.
Experts highlight the implications of such findings, linking increased hurricane wind speeds and intensities to economic damage, foreshadowing what the future may hold should these trends continue.
