Climate Change Supercharged Hurricane Melissa’s Deadly Caribbean Ra…

Hurricane Melissa’s devastating sweep through the Caribbean last month wasn’t just another natural disaster—it was a climate-amplified catastrophe that scientists say offers a stark preview of our warming future. The monster Category 5 storm killed at least 67 people across Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, with damages estimated at $50 billion.

New research from World Weather Attribution reveals the alarming extent to which human-caused climate change intensified Melissa’s destruction. Global warming boosted the hurricane’s maximum wind speeds by 11 mph—reaching a terrifying 185 mph—and increased extreme rainfall by 16 percent. Perhaps most troubling, climate change made such devastating conditions about six times more likely to occur.

The storm’s unprecedented rapid intensification stunned scientists, as winds doubled from 70 to 140 mph in just 18 hours—well beyond the threshold for “extreme rapid intensification.” This dangerous phenomenon, now twice as likely due to climate change, gives coastal communities less time to prepare for catastrophic impacts. Melissa crawled across exceptionally warm Caribbean waters at just 1-3 mph, allowing it to gather “immense destructive energy” from ocean temperatures that extended deep below the surface.

Despite the destruction, accurate forecasting likely saved countless lives. Jamaica opened 881 emergency shelters while Cuba evacuated 735,000 people from vulnerable areas. However, as one researcher noted, “people have no living memory of a storm this strong,” making adequate preparation increasingly difficult as climate change pushes hurricanes beyond historical precedent.