"While Jamaicans cowered as Hurricane Melissa approached, Leanne Archer, a research associate in climate extremes at the University of Bristol, said the hurricane was "yet another stark reminder that islands such as Jamaica face the brunt of accelerating extremes amplified by climate change, despite being among those who are the least responsible for the problem". Yet even as climate activists insist Earth is not dying, but being killed, too many are still ready to deny climate change even exists."
""There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a category five," said Jamaica's prime minister Andrew Holness. Michael Brennan, the director of the US National Hurricane Centre, was also fearful for what the winds of more than 300kmh could leave in their wake. It is "a worst-case scenario", he said. The predicted storm surge - up to four metres - poses an unprecedented threat, as most of Jamaica's centres of population are on the coast."
Islands such as Jamaica face the brunt of accelerating extremes amplified by climate change, despite contributing little to global emissions. Poorer populations will always be hit harder than those in the developed world. Jamaica lacks infrastructure capable of withstanding a category five hurricane, and winds exceeding 300 km/h risk catastrophic damage. Predicted storm surges up to four metres threaten coastal population centers. Experts disagree on whether climate change increases the number of tropical storms, but they agree storms have become stronger, wetter and more destructive. Even a difference between 1.3°C and 2.6°C of global warming can determine thousands of lives.
Read at Irish Independent
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