As Hurricane Melissa intensifies, the island nation of Jamaica faces unprecedented challenges. In this article, we’ll examine the storm’s impact, the possible consequences, and the urgent need for action in response to climate change.
Conor here: Just to add a few more observations to the ones below:
A wind gust of 252 mph was just measured above the surface in Hurricane Melissa as the storm continues to intensify right up until landfall.
This is the worst-case scenario for Jamaica. pic.twitter.com/uIyyW9BD5u
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) October 28, 2025
This dropsonde through the south and southeast part of #Melissa’s eyewall is the most insane dropsonde I’ve ever seen.
*Mean* winds in the lowest 150m of 188 knots/216 mph with gusts upwards of 219 knots/252 mph!!
Absolutely scary and historic hurricane is headed into SW Jamaica pic.twitter.com/agYOOtAy9V
— Eric Webb (@webberweather) October 28, 2025
Yeah I’m not gonna lie, Hurricane #Melissa feels like the closest thing I’ve seen to the Atlantic’s version of Hurricane Haiyan #Melissa (left), #Haiyan (2013) (right) pic.twitter.com/rAcZRr1GBK
— Eric Webb (@webberweather) October 28, 2025
By Jake Johnson, a senior editor and staff writer at Common Dreams. Originally published at Common Dreams.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a powerful Category 5 storm, triggering urgent humanitarian efforts and instilling fear among experts over the severe impacts of this climate-driven disaster.
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the National Hurricane Center stated, following the storm’s landfall.
Early footage shared on social media demonstrates the storm’s devastating effects—the most powerful hurricane to ever hit the island and the third-strongest ever recorded in the Atlantic.
🇯🇲 | Video que muestra los daños y las inundaciones en el área de Black River, Jamaica, por el huracán Melissa. pic.twitter.com/k6RZDE9jdB
— Entredostv (@Entredostv1) October 28, 2025
Anne-Claire Fontan, a tropical cyclone specialist with the World Meteorological Organization, referred to Melissa as “the storm of the century,” warning that Jamaica will experience catastrophic conditions, including intense flooding and landslides.
As the slow-moving storm approached, torrential rains and maximum sustained winds of 185 mph knocked out power for tens of thousands of Jamaicans. Wind gusts were recorded at over 220 mph. Such storms have prompted scientists to advocate for the establishment of a formal Category 6 for hurricanes.
“Unimaginable violence is hiding in the very small and compact eyewall of Melissa,” noted Greg Postel, a hurricane specialist at The Weather Channel. “Nearly continuous lightning will accompany the tornadic wind speeds.”
Melissa tonight has had one of the most powerful satellite presentations you will ever see for an Atlantic Hurricane. Perfect symmetry in all quadrants and satellite estimation techniques being maxed out, with Dvorak analysis yielding 871.1 mbar (recon found the real pressure to… pic.twitter.com/nKKFbv4g7j
— Backpirch Weather (@BackpirchCrew) October 28, 2025
The International Federation of the Red Cross reported that Hurricane Melissa could directly impact up to 1.5 million individuals in Jamaica—approximately half the island’s population.
“We are okay at the moment but bracing ourselves for the worst,” stated Jamaican climate activist Tracey Edwards on Tuesday. “I’ve grown weary of these threats, and I do not want to face the next hurricane.”
The International Organization for Migration cautioned that the potential for flooding, landslides, and extensive destruction is exceedingly high, leading to the likelihood of many individuals being displaced and in urgent need of shelter and assistance.
Melissa’s landfall coincided with remarks from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who emphasized that the global community has failed to avert a rise in planetary temperatures above the critical 1.5°C threshold “in the next few years.”
Meteorologist Eric Holthaus expressed grave concerns on social media, referring to it as “the news I’ve dreaded all my life.”
“Humanity has failed to avoid dangerous climate change,” he remarked. “We have now entered an era of overshoot. Our new priority must be to prevent as many irreversible tipping points from occurring as possible.”
Experts agree that Hurricane Melissa showcases the unmistakable signs of the ongoing planetary crisis largely driven by the combustion of fossil fuels.
The warming planet is evidently exacerbating this catastrophic event for Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas, according to Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, who stated this to the New York Times.
Akshay Deoras, a meteorologist at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, explained to the Associated Press that the Atlantic is experiencing extraordinarily high temperatures.
“And it’s not just the surface,” Deoras emphasized. “The deeper layers of the ocean are also unusually warm, providing a significant reservoir of energy for the storm.”
Amira Odeh, a Caribbean campaigner with 350.org, remarked on Tuesday that “what is happening in Jamaica is a clear example of climate injustice.”
“Every home without power, every flooded hospital, every family cut off by the storm is a direct result of political inaction,” stated Odeh. “We cannot continue to suffer the consequences of the fossil fuel industry’s greed.”
“As global leaders prepare for COP30, they must recognize that each delay and every new fossil fuel project signifies more lives lost,” she warned. “Jamaica serves as the latest call to action, and it’s crucial for the world to heed this alarm.”
