Scientists propose to introduce a new, sixth category to classify "mega-hurricanes," the likelihood of which is increasing due to the climate crisis. This was reported by UNN with reference to The Guardian.
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According to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, hurricanes are becoming so strong due to the climate crisis that their classification should be expanded to include a "category 6" storm. Prior to that, the hurricane scale had standardized marks from 1 to 5.
On the scale, any hurricane with sustained maximum wind speeds of 120 km per hour or more is classified as Category 1, with the scale increasing as the winds increase. Category 3 and above are considered to be large hurricanes that can cause serious damage to property and life.
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Category 5 storms have caused enormous damage in recent years. For example, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005. But a new study argues that there is now a class of even more extreme storms that need their own category.
Over the past decade, five hurricanes with wind speeds of more than 310 km per hour would be classified as the new Category 6. These include Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people in the Philippines in 2013, and Hurricane Patricia, which formed near Mexico in 2015.
The researchers note that such mega-hurricanes are becoming more likely due to global warming caused by warming oceans and atmospheres. While the overall number of hurricanes is not increasing due to the climate crisis, the researchers found that the intensity of severe storms has increased markedly over four decades of satellite observations of hurricanes. The superheated ocean provides additional energy for hurricanes to intensify rapidly, aided by a warmer and wetter atmosphere. However, there is no indication that there will be any hurricanes officially classified as Category 6 in the near future.