Climate Change Is 'Increasing Melissa’s Potential Damages By As Much As 50%,' Climate Scientists Say

Melissa To Make Cuban Landfall Wednesday Morning

As Hurricane Melissa rakes across Jamaica as one of the strongest hurricanes the Atlantic Basin has ever seen, it's sobering. Words can’t describe the impact this storm will have on this island nation for years to come.

Many are asking if storms are getting stronger. And unfortunately, they are.

Four of the six strongest hurricanes on record have occurred since the 2005 season.

Even as Category 5 Hurricane Melissa sweeps across Jamaica’s southern coast, climate scientists are sounding the alarm that this catastrophic event is being driven by climate change.

“Human-caused climate warming is making all of Melissa’s dangers worse: driving heavier rainfall, more damaging wind speeds and higher storm surge along the coast,” said Dr. Daniel Gilford, meteorologist and climate scientist at Climate Central. He added, “Climate-boosted ocean heat helped increase wind speeds by 10 mph, increasing its potential damages by as much as 50%.”

(FORECAST: Get the latest on Hurricane Melissa here.)

During Melissa’s slow crawl through the Caribbean, it has been over the warmest water in the entire Atlantic Basin. Ocean waters are currently 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average, which, according to a Climate Central report “were made up to 700 times more likely because of human-caused climate change.

How Does Climate Change Fuel Hurricanes?

Scientists have shown that since 1970, the oceans have absorbed roughly 93% of the excess heat that has been fueled by carbon emissions. This is because seawater has a much higher capacity to retain heat compared to the atmosphere.

In fact, every tenth of a degree of ocean warming increases the risks of stronger storms and higher sea levels.

We know that warmer ocean water fuels tropical systems, therefore, as climate change continues to warm the oceans, it will also continue to cause stronger hurricanes. Rising sea levels due to climate change will also amplify storm surge potential as storms come onshore, putting entire coastal communities in harms way.

A warmer atmosphere is also able to squeeze out more moisture, therefore leading to heavier rainfall within tropical systems. It’s estimated that tropical systems’ rainfall rates are increasing by 1% per year due to climate change. This is not only resulting in more inland flooding, but hurricanes are maintaining their structure longer over land, which is compounding damages and threats. Flooding is the cause of over half of the hurricane-related deaths in the U.S.

Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.