An analysis released on Thursday suggests human-caused climate change boosted the destructive winds and rain unleashed by Hurricane Melissa.
A rapid analysis by World Weather Attribution (WWA) found that climate change increased Melissa’s maximum wind speed by 7% and made the rainfall 16% more intense.
In addition, scientists believe that the temperature and humidity were intensified in the hurricane, made six times more likely due to climate change compared to the pre-industrial world.
“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, told the Associated Press.
