Two scientists have proposed the creation of a Category 6 designation for hurricanes to account for the increasing intensity of storms due to climate change.
They argue that the current Category 5 limit underestimates the risk posed by these extreme weather events.
The paper identifies storms in the past decade that would have exceeded the proposed Category 6 threshold, emphasizing the need to consider factors beyond just wind intensity in measuring hurricane impact.
“Our motivation here is to reconsider how the open-endedness of the scale can lead to an underestimation of risk, and, in particular, how this underestimation becomes increasingly problematic in a warming world,” the researchers wrote. “Storm intensities well above the category-5 threshold are being realized, and record wind speeds will likely continue to be broken as the planet continues to warm.”
While there is no formal plan to update the hurricane intensity scale, the scientists hope their proposal will stimulate discussion about better warning the public about the increasing threat of powerful storms.
“Previously, it has been argued that one particularly destructive storm, Typhoon Haiyan, should be included in a proposed category 6,” the authors said. “But Haiyan does not appear to be an isolated case.”
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