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Wind speeds have been above 86 meters per second in many tropical cyclones in recent years, the team notes in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). This corresponds to over 309.6 kilometers per hour. The usual hurricane scale is no longer sufficient, according to two researchers. Now the strengths need to be expanded.
Analysis of data from 1980 to 2021 found that five storms would be classified in the new hypothetical Category 6, according to the authors. All of these storms occurred in the last nine years of the data series, write Michael Wehner of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley and James Kossin of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. One of the reasons for the increase is climate change and the resulting increase in sea temperatures. This provides additional heat energy for hurricanes that may become stronger.
Will hypothetical category 6 be introduced?
Hurricane Patricia, the strongest of the five hurricanes, formed in the Eastern Pacific in 2015 and reached Mexico. The remaining four were typhoons, the name given to tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific region. Among them was “Haiyan”, which hit the densely populated islands of the Philippines in 2013 and caused the most deaths among the five hurricanes.
Past climate modeling showed that the risk of a hypothetical Category 6 hurricane in the Philippines increased by 50 percent if global warming was 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, according to the researchers. In the Gulf of Mexico, that number doubles.
The team explained that particularly destructive tropical cyclone “Haiyan” had been proposed to be included in category 6 in the past. “But “Haiyan” does not appear to be an isolated case.” Researchers are advocating a modification to the current Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, with a Category 5 for peak wind speeds of 70 to 86 meters per second, with an additional Category 6 above that.
New phase can raise awareness
A previous study found that most hurricane-related deaths in the U.S. were caused by coastal storm surge (49 percent), followed by flooding from heavy rain (27 percent), deaths caused directly by wind (8 percent), and many other causes.
Wind-based scale is only marginally relevant to many destruction factors, the researchers write. However, it still remains an important criterion for risk warnings. Adding a category 6 to the hurricane wind scale could also increase awareness of the dangers of major hurricanes caused by global warming.
The Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale was introduced in the United States in the early 1970s. Since 2010, winds have been measured at heights of ten metres. While hurricanes move very slowly, their rotating winds are very fast. (SDA)
Source : Blick
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