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As the Atlantic Ocean warms, climate change is fueling Hurricane Melissa’s ferocity
Hurricane Melissa intensified rapidly to Category 5 with winds reaching 175 mph, threatening catastrophic flooding and infrastructure damage in Jamaica, officials warned.
- On Tuesday, Hurricane Melissa is forecast to make landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with sustained winds over 157 mph.
- Climate scientists said Monday the warming of the oceans helped double Hurricane Melissa's wind speed in less than 24 hours, fueled by surface temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius and warm deeper layers.
- Residents in the northern Caribbean face immediate storm impacts as at least six people have died and nearly 200 homes were damaged in the Dominican Republic, while the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned of up to 40 inches of rain in Jamaica.
- Policymakers say the storm heightens the need to invest in early warning systems and coastal defenses, emphasizing the urgency for decisive climate action to avoid exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius warming.
- Scientists said this is the fourth storm this year to rapidly intensify in the Atlantic, while a 2023 study found such hurricanes are now more than twice as likely to do so.
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Hurricane Melissa leaves humanitarian disaster and recovery challenge for Caribbean after more than 30 killed
The storm will hit Bermuda on Thursday afternoon or evening, after Jamaica faced the devastation from one of the most powerful storms ever recorded.
·Washington, United States
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The ocean absorbs 90 percent of global warming. Ocean temperatures determine how strong a hurricane can develop, and the sea off Jamaica is close to an extreme 30 degrees.
·Copenhagen, Denmark
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Total News Sources120
Leaning Left34Leaning Right7Center44Last UpdatedBias Distribution52% Center
Bias Distribution
- 52% of the sources are Center
52% Center
L 40%
C 52%
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