A recent study underscores the intensifying impact of the climate crisis on hurricanes, suggesting the necessity of introducing a new classification, “Category 6,” to the existing 1 to 5 scale. Researchers assert that over the past decade, five storms would qualify for this heightened category, characterized by sustained winds of 192mph or more. The study, led by Michael Wehner of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and James Kossin of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, highlights the increasing likelihood of mega-hurricanes due to global heating, attributed to the warming oceans and atmosphere.
Wehner, emphasizing the extraordinary speed, notes that “192mph is probably faster than most Ferraris, it’s hard to even imagine.” The proposed extension to the widely used Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, developed in the early 1970s, aims to distinguish a new class of extreme storms demanding their own category. While Category 5 storms like Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Maria have caused significant damage, the study identifies an even more severe classification, encompassing storms such as Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 and Hurricane Patricia in 2015.
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study addresses the imperfections of the Saffir-Simpson scale in assessing hurricane dangers. Wehner states that a Category 6 would draw attention to heightened risks posed by the climate crisis, particularly emphasizing the severe rainfall and coastal flooding associated with these storms.
The research emphasizes the increasing intensity of major storms over the past four decades, even though the total number of hurricanes is not rising due to the climate crisis. A super-heated ocean, coupled with a warmer, moisture-laden atmosphere, provides extra energy, rapidly intensifying hurricanes. The study’s primary goal is to raise awareness of climate change’s impact on the most intense storms.
The modernization of systems to reflect rapid changes has been witnessed in weather maps, such as Australia’s addition of a new color, purple, to signify ferocious heat. Recently, the US government’s Coral Reef Watch program introduced three new alert categories addressing the escalating heat stress on corals.
Despite the study’s call for a Category 6, there is currently no indication of hurricanes officially being classified as such. The US National Hurricane Center has not responded to requests for comments on the study, leaving the potential addition of a new hurricane category uncertain.
