Scientists propose a Category 6 as hurricanes gain in intensity with climate change

A pair of climate scientists are proposing a sixth category for hurricanes as climate change increasingly intensiges storms, according to a new research study.

In a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the two scientists argued the “open-ended” Sa#r-simpson hurricane wind scale is becoming increasingly “inadequate” as the globe continues to warm.

The scale, developed in the early 1970s, may not re%ect the true intensity of some storms, argued study co-authors Michael F. Wehner, a climate scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and James P. Kossin, a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate and hurricane researcher.

Under the proposal, a Category 6 designation would apply to storms with winds that exceed 192 mph.

Storms with winds of 157 mph or higher are currently ranked Category 5, an open-ended approach that fails to adequately warn people of the dangers of higher wind speeds, the study contended.

The study’s co-authors believe the openended nature of the current scale will prompt people to underestimate the risk of some hurricanes, which will become “increasingly problematic in a warming world.”

“We Gnd that a number of recent storms have already achieved this hypothetical category 6 intensity and based on multiple independent lines of evidence examining the highest simulated and potential peak wind speeds, more such storms are projected as the climate continues to warm,” the study stated.

Since 2013, Gve hurricanes — all in the Pacigc — reached wind speeds of 192 mph or higher, with warming conditions expected to bring even stronger weather, The Associated Press reported.