Weather experts are calling a new, stronger category hurricanes. They say this is because climate change is causing more powerful storms. Scientists the USA want to extend the current scale used to measure hurricanes. This scale ranks storms 1 to 5. A category five is currently the strongest. This is when winds reach 252 kph. The meteorologists say a new category 6 is needed winds of over 309 kph. Their studies show that the past decade, there have been five hurricanes and typhoons that would have been a category 6. Hurricanes and typhoons are the same weather phenomenon. The former start the Atlantic Ocean, while the latter occur the north-western Pacific Ocean.
Meteorologist Dr James Kossin said it would take a long time a new category 6 to be accepted. It would need the USA's National Hurricane Center to start researching more intense storms. Dr Kossin hopes to, "inform broader discussions about how to better communicate risk a warming world". He said "significantly increasing" temperatures are caused greenhouse gas emissions. This increase emissions is heating oceans, which gives the water extra energy. This makes hurricanes more powerful, much higher wind speeds. He believes there will be a greater number "super-storms" the future. He said: "These storms keep getting stronger as the climate changes."
